Nationality Swiss Education Ecole Centrale Paris Died October 18, 1889 | Name Louis Curchod Alma mater Ecole Centrale Paris | |
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Born 7 October 1826 Crissier, Switzerland Occupation engineer and telegraph specialist | ||
Louis Curchod (7 October 1826 – 18 October 1889) Swiss engineer, telegraph specialist, Director of the Swiss Telegraph Service, and first head of the International Telegraph Bureau (today known as the ITU). Born in Crissier, Switzerland, he graduated as an engineer from École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in 1849. He went on to be an telegraphic service inspector and was soon promoted to be Director of the Swiss Telegraph Service. In that capacity he took part in the International Telegraph Conference of Paris in 1865 and his performance there brought him to the attention of the international telegraphic community which eventually named him head of the ITB in 1869, a post which he maintained to his death with a brief interruption in 1872-1873.