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Back to article: JULES PAUL BENJAMIN DELESSERT (1773–1847)

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DELESSERT, JULES PAUL BENJAMIN (1773–1847), French banker, was born at Lyons on the 14th of February 1773, the son of Etienne Delessert (1735–1816), the founder of the first
fire insurance company and the first discount bank.in France. Young Delessert was travelling in England when the Revolution broke out in France, but he hastened back to join the Paris National Guard in 1790, becoming an officer of artillery in 1793. His father bought him out of the army, however, in 1795 in order to entrust him with the management of his bank. Gifted with remarkable energy, he started many commercial enterprises, founding the first cotton factory at Passy in 18o1, and a sugar factory in 1802, for which he was created a baron of the empire. He sat in the chamber of deputies for many years, and was a strong advocate for many humane measures, notably the suppression of the " Tours " or revolving box at the foundling hospital, the suppression of the death penalty, and the improvement of the penitentiary system. He was made regent of the Bank of France in 1802, and was also member of, and, indeed, founder of many, learned and philanthropic societies. He founded the first savings bank in France, and maintained a keen interest in it until his death in 1847. He was also an ardent botanist and conchologist; his botanical library embraced 30,000 volumes, of which he published a catalogue—Musa botanique de M. Delessert (1845). He also wrote Des avantages de la caisse d'epargne et de prevoyance (1835), Memoire sur un projet de bibliotheque royale (1836), Le Guide de bonheur (1839), and Recueil de coquilles decrites par Lamarck (1841-1842).