Ferdinand de Lesseps Biography and Timeline

Canal Concession

Obtains Said Pasha's concession to form a company and construct the Suez Canal.

Role range: 1852-1870

Suez Canal

As stipulated in the concessions, de Lesseps convenes the International Commission for the piercing of the isthmus of Suez (Commission Internationale pour le percement de l'isthme des Suez) consisting of 13 experts from seven countries, among them John Robinson McClean, later President of the Institution

Role range: 1852-1870

Suez Canal

Ferdinand de Lesseps obtains a concession from Said Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, to create a company to construct a canal open to ships of all nations.

Role range: 1852-1870

Suez Canal

of Civil Engineers in London, and again Negrelli, to examine the plans developed by Linant de Bellefonds, and to advise on the feasibility of and the best route for the canal

Role range: 1852-1870

Canal Concession

Secures a second concession clarifying company powers and obligations for construction of the canal.

Role range: 1852-1870

Suez Canal Company

The Suez Canal Company (Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez) comes into being

Role range: 1852-1870

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal Company (Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez) comes into being

Role range: 1852-1870

Suez Canal Company

Forms the Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez to finance and build the canal.

Role range: 1852-1870

Port Said

Work starts on the shore of the future Port Said

Role range: 1852-1870

Suez Canal

Work starts on the shore of the future Port Said. The excavation takes some 10 years using forced labor (corvee) of Egyptian workers, sources estimate that over 30,000 people were working on the canal at any given period, that more than 1.5 million people from various countries were employed, and that thousands of laborers died

Role range: 1852-1870

Construction of Suez Canal

Opens construction work at Port Said, beginning the excavation of the Suez Canal.

Role range: 1859-1869

Construction of Suez Canal

Oversees continued excavation across the northern canal works near Lake Manzala.

Role range: 1859-1869

Freshwater Canal

Promotes the freshwater canal needed to support workers and settlements along the Suez Canal route.

Role range: 1859-1869

Construction of Suez Canal

Relies increasingly on mechanical excavation as forced labour is curtailed during the later construction phase.

Role range: 1859-1869

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal opens

Role range: 1852-1870

Opening of Suez Canal

Celebrates the opening of the canal after a decade of construction across the Suez Isthmus.

Role range: 1859-1869

Purchase of Suez Canal Shares

Continues to lead the Suez Canal Company after the British Government becomes a major shareholder.

Role range: 1876-1876

Panama Canal

Commences construction of the Panama Canal