 ferdinand marie, vicomte de lesseps gcsi (; 19 november 1805 &ndash; 7 december 1894) was a french diplomat and later developer of the suez canal, which in 1869 joined the mediterranean and red seas, substantially reducing sailing distances and times between the west and the east. he attempted to repeat this success with an effort to build a panama canal at sea-level during the 1880s, but the project was devastated by epidemics of malaria and yellow fever in the area, as well as beset by financial problems, and the planned de lesseps panama canal was never completed. eventually, the project was bought out by the united states who changed the design to a non-sea-level canal with locks, which was completed in 1914. ==early years== ferdinand de lesseps was born at versailles, yvelines, in 1805. he had a sister, adÃ©laÃ¯de de lesseps (1803â1879), married to jules tallien de cabarrus (19 april 1801 â 1870), and two brothers, thÃ©odore de lesseps (cÃ¡diz, 25 september 1802 â saint-germain-en-laye, 20 may 1874), married in 1828 to antonia denois (paris, 27 september 1802 â paris, 29 december 1878), and jules de lesseps (pisa, 16 february 1809 â paris, 10 october 1887), married on 11 march 1874 to hyacinthe delarue. his first years were spent in italy, where his father was occupied with his consular duties. he was educated at the college of henry iv in paris. from the age of 18 years to 20 he was employed in the commissary department of the army. from 1825 to 1827 he acted as assistant vice-consul at lisbon, where his uncle, barthÃ©lemy de lesseps, was the french chargÃ© d'affaires. this uncle was an old companion of jean-franÃ§ois de la pÃ©rouse and the only survivor of the expedition in which la pÃ©rouse perished. barthÃ©lemy de lesseps had left the expedition in kamchatka to travel to st petersburg overland. ==career== ===diplomatic=== in 1828 de lesseps was sent as an assistant vice-consul to tunis, where his father was consul-general. h
1805_births 1894_deaths 19th-century_French_diplomats Burials_at_PA"re_Lachaise_Cemetery Canal_engineers De_Lesseps_family French_businesspeople Grand_Croix_of_the_LA(c)gion_d\'honneur Honorary_Knights_Grand_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Star_of_India Members_of_the_AcadA(c)mie_franASSaise Members_of_the_French_Academy_of_Sciences Panama_Canal People_from_Versailles People_of_the_Revolutions_of_1848 Suez_Canal