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Ferdinand de Lesseps
French diplomat who obtained the Suez Canal concession
1805 – 1894
Lifespan.
Biography
A French diplomat who in 1854 obtained from the governor Saʿid Pasha a concession to dig a canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and founded the Suez Canal Company that carried it out.
Key facts
Certainty: Established
De Lesseps obtained the canal concession from Saʿid Pasha in 1854; digging began in 1859.
- Zachary Karabell (2003) “Parting the Desert: The Creation of the Suez Canal” Alfred A. Knopf