Victor Noir

Birth Name:

Yvan Salmon

Birth Date:

July 27, 1848

Birth Place:

Attigny, Vosges, France

Death Date:

January 11, 1870

Place of Death:

59 rue d'Auteuil, Paris, France

Age:

Cause of Death:

Homicide - gunshot wounds

Cemetery Name:

Cimetière du Père Lachaise

Claim to Fame:

Writers and Poets

Victor Noir was the nom de plume of a budding journalist killed at 21 years old by Prince Pierre Bonaparte. The prince was a relative of the reigning monarch, Emperor Napoleon III, the same Napoleon who censured the press and forced writers like Victor Hugo into exile. The little noble shot Victor six times when Noir and another witness went to pick up the prince and drive him to a duel. The prince was quickly tried and acquitted, paying only a pittance in damages for taking another man's life. More than a hundred thousand outraged people crowded for the funeral on a cold January day in 1870. It was a catalyst for anti-royal fervor. Later that same year, after a crushing defeat at a battle in the Franco-Prussian war they imprisoned the last Napoleon.

Fun Fact

So the question begs: why is his tomb considered a symbol of fertility world over?

When sculpture and artist Jules Dalou created the monument you see today, Dalou’s method was to start by modeling the naked body and then clothing it in bronze. You can’t miss the quite impressive bulge on the finished product. By the folds in the pleats of the pants and the top button coming undone, it evokes a sizable “member” writhing to escape. Notice the surface where the trouser legs meet is not at all oxidized like the rest. Legend says that young women seeking to become pregnant or to find a husband rub the firm bronze, kiss his lips and make a wish. As a result of the legend, those particular components of the otherwise verdigris (grey-green oxidized bronze) statue are rather well-worn and shiny.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Cimetière du Père Lachaise

16 Rue du Repos, 6ème division, Chemin Lesseps

Paris, , 75020

France

Europe

Map:

Cemetery map of Cimetière du Père Lachaise in Paris, France.

Grave Location:

Division 92

Grave Location Description

Victor Noir is in-between the tall tombs of Boudot et Thierry on the right and De Ycaza on the left on Avenue Transversale 2 between Avenue Carette and Avenue Greffulhe.