Portraits of emblematic people

Count Geraud was born around 855 at Château de Saint-Etienne, his parents’ home. Descended from a noble family, he inherited the family lands and distinguished himself by his piety, charity and sense of justice. It is to him that we owe the first development of the town of Aurillac.

In 895, he founded the Abbey of Saint Géraud next to the church of Saint-Clément, built by his father, the very spot where his parents were buried. Despite his desire to become a monk, Geraud chose to remain a lord to protect and support his community, living by the principles of poverty and chastity.

Geraud died on Friday, October 13, 909, and his body was buried in the abbey church. Following numerous miracles, he was canonized, becoming the patron saint of the town of Aurillac. Saint-Géraud is celebrated every year on October 13, and his legacy lives on in the region’s culture and history.

Gerbert d’Aurillac was born into a poor family around 938 in the hamlet of Beillac (commune of Saint-Simon) in the Cantal region of France.
He was accepted as a novice by the Benedictine monks of Saint-Géraud d’Aurillac. He was a studious monk with a thirst for knowledge. He went on to study in Spain, where he discovered Arabic numerals and designed his abacus (calculating tablet).

In 991, Hugues Capet appointed Gerbert Archbishop of Reims.
In 996, he attended the coronation of Otto III, King of Germania, who later appointed him Bishop of Ravenna in Italy.

He died on May 12, 1003 in Rome.

Émile Duclaux was born in Aurillac on June 24, 1840. His youth in the Cantal left its mark on him, and he remained attached to this region throughout his life. His early interest in the sciences led to brilliant studies at the École normale supérieure.

In 1873, Duclaux joined Louis Pasteur’s team, with whom he collaborated on groundbreaking work in microbiology. In particular, he contributed to research on fermentation, hygiene and the fight against infectious diseases. He became Pasteur’s disciple and successor, playing a central role in the dissemination of Pasteur’s discoveries.

The town of Aurillac dedicated a street to him on May 15, 1904, and a high school to him on July 25, 1904 (sculpture of the bust outside the school grounds).

From 1887 onwards, he played a leading role in Cantalien cultural and political life, publishing satirical poetry in Auvergnat.

Arsène Vermenouze is also a great French-language poet. In 1903, he published “Mon Auvergne”, a collection that won an award from the Académie française.

Square Vermenouze, featuring the artist’s bust
Rue Arsène Vermenouze

A wealthy family took him in to help finance his studies, and he obtained a double degree in mathematics and law.

Married and ill, he gave up teaching and turned to politics. He was successively General Councillor, Deputy, Senator, Minister, President of the Senate and finally President of the Republic in 1931.

The municipality of Aurillac chose to build this symbolic monument, bearing a column as a sign of mourning, as well as the allegory of Immortality. The bas-relief pedestals depict Paul Doumer’s life and qualities (willpower, probity, goodness and duty). Designed by architect Labro, the monument was inaugurated on July 22, 1934 by French President Albert Lebrun.

Marie Marvingt was born in Aurillac, in the Cantal region of France. From an early age, she showed an insatiable curiosity and a taste for challenges, which were to become the hallmarks of her life.

In 1908, she was one of the first women to fly a plane and took part in aerial competitions. That year, she also excelled in a variety of sporting disciplines, including cycling, swimming and mountaineering. She even attempted to take part in the Tour de France (then forbidden to women).

During the First World War, in 1915, Marie Marvingt became the first woman to fly a military aircraft on a reconnaissance mission. She also campaigned for the creation of air ambulance services, anticipating the development of airborne emergency medicine.

At the age of 24, he passed his internship at the Paris hospitals and obtained his doctorate five years later.

In 1925, Henri Mondor was appointed Professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, a prestigious position that underlined his expertise in surgery. He distinguished himself in fields such as thoracic and vascular surgery. He also described a rare condition that now bears his name: Mondor’s disease, a form of superficial thrombophlebitis.

Henri Mondor’s name was given to several hospital establishments, including the Aurillac public hospital in 1972, made official by President Georges Pompidou.

Elise Rieuf’s vocation as an artist was an early and decisive one.
After attending the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Clermont-Ferrand (1915-1918), she prepared to become a professor of drawing in Paris (1921-1922).

She taught in Düsseldorf, then Agen, and in 1927 left for China, after marrying the architect Paul Veysseyre.
In 1930, she left her husband, divorced him and returned to France, bringing with her a considerable body of work inspired by her discovery of the Far East.

In 1993, his hometown dedicated a museum to him, displaying some of his finest works.

Born on August 25, 1912 in Carlat, at the age of 17 he passed his “brevet” at the Cours complémentaire d’Aurillac, and enrolled at the Ecole Normale to become a teacher, as well as being a rygbyman in the first team of the Stade Aurillacois.

One of his major achievements, between 1962 and 1964, was the creation of the Maison de l’Éducation Nationale in Aurillac, which was named after him in 1990.
He was awarded the Légion d’Honneur at the age of 64.

His father-in-law, Jésus Arriazu, created what was to become the famous “Maison Charlot” on rue du Prince, with his son Anselme and his daughter-in-law as partners. For several decades, this itinerant business set up on the outskirts of Square Vermenouze delighted young and old alike.

Here, in winter, the ice-cream cart gives way to a brazier where chestnuts roast to warm the hearts of walkers. With her legendary smile, Yvonne places her “castagnes” in a newspaper cone. The hot paper is immediately snapped up, sometimes leaving traces of black ink on the fingers, and the local treasure is eaten on one of the benches in the Square Vermenouze.