Ernest Doudart de Lagrée

Ernest Doudart de Lagree ( born March 31, 1823 in Saint -Vincent -de- Mercuze in Grenoble, France, † March 12, 1868 in Dali, China) was a French sailor and explorer.

Life

Ernest Doudart de Lagree joined the navy in 1845 and, after he had fought in the Crimean War and led a command in the Mediterranean, in 1862 transferred to Cochin, where he carried out several diplomatic missions in Cambodia.

Since the end of 1864 frigate captain, he was placed at the head of the expedition in 1866, which was to explore the Mekong in terms of its navigability and establish trade relations with the south-western provinces of China. The expedition started from Saigon on June 5, 1866, and led him through Cambodia, Thailand and Laos.

Lagree suffered during the expedition of amoebic dysentery and an infection, which he had contracted by leeches, and stayed in Dali to be treated by a doctor. There he died of an abscess of the liver. The doctor took out his heart to send it to France.

He himself was buried in Dongchuan. His second officer, Francis Garnier, took command of the expedition, which ended in Yunnan in China.

Works

• Arthur B. de Villemereuil (ed.): Explorations et de missions Doudart de Lagree. Extraits de ses manuscrits. Bouchard - Huzard, Paris 1884.