Martin Nadaud

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Martin Nadaud (1815-1898) was born in the Creuse and rose from being a peasant boy to becoming a revolutionary and Member of Parliament. His first language was Langue d'oc and he learnt French while working in Paris as a stonemason from the age of 14.

He avoided being drafted into the army for seven years service due to injuries from a fall on a Paris building site and local connections with a sympathetic doctor.

He escaped to England after the French Revolution of 1848 and became a schoolmaster under an assumed name in Wimbledon.

As a member of the Parliament of France, he advocated better public transport and public services. A station of the Paris Métro was named after him but was absorbed by a renovated Gambetta station in 1969.

His story is told in Gillian Tindall's book The Journey of Martin Nadaud - A Life and Turbulent Times (Pimlico, 2000).