Henry Darcy

Henry Philibert Gaspard Darcy (; 10 June 1803 – 3 January 1858) was a French engineer who made several important contributions to hydraulics, including Darcy’s law for flow in porous media. Early life Darcy was born in Dijon, France, on June 10, 1803. His first given name is Henry; although the French spelling Henri appears in multiple sources such as necrological notices, Darcy used the Anglicized spelling. Despite his father's death in 1817 when he was 14, his mother was able to borrow money to pay for his tutors. In 1821 he enrolled at the École Polytechnique (Polytechnic School) in Paris, and transferred two years later to the School of Bridges and Roads, which led to employment in the Corps of Bridges and Roads. Darcy met an English woman, Henriette Carey, whose family had been living in Dijon, and married her in 1828.