Charles Emmanuel Micoud d'Umons

Charles Emmanuel Micoud d'Umons (15 October 1753 – 20 December 1817), was a French economist and politician. He was Prefect of the Ourthe department (today in Belgium) under the Empire.

Baron Micoud d'Umons, owner of the Clamart estate, gave shelter to Abbé Delille and Stendhal.

Biography

In 1774, he was a naval clerk in Brest, before heading the office of war catches in Versailles.

In 1788, he published his well-received essay on Le Crédit public ou Comment ramener en France la confiance de la Nation. Appointed Intendant of the Island of France (Mauritius) in 1792, Micoud d'Umons, who had been arrested during the Terror for having criticized the assignats, returned to service in 1795 as Administrator of the Navy.

Succeeding Antoine Desmousseaux de Givré, he was appointed prefect of Ourthe in 1806, a position he held until the end of the Empire. During the Hundred Days he was Prefect of Aisne from March 22, 1815 to the Second Restoration, July 1815.

Following the Beaujonc mine disaster (Ans, Liège), Charles Micoud had the idea of setting up a provident fund for miners and their families who were victims of the risks of the profession. His argumentative plea and his perseverance finally convinced Napoleon, who signed the decree on March 26, 1813. In return for a voluntary deduction of 2% of their monthly salary, all miners in the department could join the fund. In return, employers were required to contribute 0.5% of the total payroll of the members working for them. An administrative commission of 10 members, including Hubert Goffin as the sole worker representative, was responsible for managing and deciding on the allocation of the funds.

Charles Micoud d'Umons is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, 13th division (burial place of the Duvergier de Hauranne family), next to François Hippolyte Jaubert (1758 – killed at the Battle of the Nile, 1798), father of Hippolyte François Jaubert (1798–1874), politician and botanist.

Charles Emmanuel Micoud d'Umons married in second marriage, Rosalie Mélanie Cheminade, widow of François Hippolyte Jaubert mentioned above. From this last union, he left a daughter, Camille Cécile Micoud d'Umons (1808–1878), married to Prosper Duvergier de Hauranne (1798–1881), parents of Ernest Duvergier de Hauranne.

Works

• Essai sur le crédit public, suivi des moyens par lesquels on pourrait ranimer en France la confiance de la nation (1789)
• Sur les finances, le commerce, la marine et les colonies (1802)

External links

• Works by Charles Emmanuel Micoud d'Umons at Gallica