Scientific Biography of Henri Bénard (1874–1939)

Abstract

Henri Claude Bénard was born at Lieurey, a small French village inthe region of Eure, in Normandy, on October 25 th , 1874. He wasthe only son of Felix A. Bénard (1851–1884) and Hélène M. Mangeant(1837–1901) [1–3]. His father was a small investor, who died veryyoung. H. Bénard finished elementary school in the district of Lisieuxand in Caen, nearby his birthplace, and moved to Paris to continuehis studies at the Lycée Louis le Grand, one of the best high schoolsin France. In 1894, he succeeded in the highly competitive entranceexaminations to the prestigious Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris1.Indeed, this year, 17 students were selected from 307 candidatesin the sciences section and 25 from 205 candidates in the humanitiessection [4].