Besan�on

Besan�on is a French city, in the d�partement of Doubs, of which it is the pr�fecture. Population (1999): 122,308.

Its Latin name was Vesontio.

The city's fortifications were upgraded by Vauban.

The city is famous for its microtechnology and watch industries.

Famous people born in Besan�on include:

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) - Writer and poet
Tristan Bernard (1866-1947) - Journalist and Humorist
Hilaire de Chardonnet (1838-1924) - Inventor of artificial silk
Charles Fourier (1772-1837) - Inventor of socialist "phalansteries" (vast communal buildings surrounded by a highly cultivated agricultural area)
Claude Goudimel (1510-1572) - Musician, Teacher of Palestrina. Composer of the music for Protestant hymns
Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (1517-1586) - Cardinal, statesman and humanist. Counsellor of Charles V, Viceroy of Naples
Auguste and Louis Lumiere, (1862-1954) and (1864-1948) - Inventors of cinematography
Charles Nodier (1780-1844) - Writer. Leader of the Romantic movement
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865)- Journalist (Le Peuple) and author of world-renowned socialist theories
Jean Claude Eugene Peclet, physicist, gave his name to the P�clet number
Louis-Jean R�sal (1854-1920) - Engineer who built the Pont Mirabeau and the Pont Alexandre III in Paris