Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert [SEP] native language
Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert
Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert (14 February 1773 – 1 March 1847) was a French banker and naturalist.
Biography.
He was born at Lyon, the son of Étienne Delessert (1735–1816), the founder of the first fire insurance company and the first discount bank in France. Young Delessert was travelling in England when the French Revolution broke out, but he hastened back to join the Paris National Guard in 1790, becoming an officer of artillery in 1793. His father bought him out of
England when he was only 15 years old. At the age of 23, he sailed to New Orleans to establish new trade business with America, made possible by the bank's fleet of ships built by his father. He then made his way to Washington D.C. by steamboat, carriage and rail. In 1832, Jean-Henri married Caroline Delessert, the daughter of Baron François Delessert. In 1818, Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert and Hottinguer created the first savings company and contingency fund in France for modest earners – a precursor to