Léonce Verny

François Léonce Verny (2 December 1837 – 2 May 1908) was a French officer and naval engineer who directed the construction of the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in Japan, as well as many related modern infrastructure projects from 1865 to 1876, thus helping jump-start Japan's modernization.

Early life Léonce Verny was born in Aubenas, Ardèche. He studied at Lyon and then went on to the prestigious École Polytechnique in 1856. He entered the Institute for Applied Maritime Science at Cherbourg in 1858, where he became a Naval Engineer. He worked for the French state in the arsenals of Brest and Toulon.

China mission Verny was sent to Ningbo and Shanghai in China from 1862 to 1864, to supervise the construction of four gunboats for the Chinese Navy, as well as a new shipyard. During that time, he was also French Vice-Consul in Ningbo.

Career in Japan Japan had started a modernization effort in 1853 and the Tokugawa government decided to build a modern naval shipyard and arsenal in collaboration with the French government. Verny was persuaded to go to Japan by his distant relative, French ambassador Léon Roches in September 1865, who negotiated the substantial annual salary of $10,000.

Verny returned to France in 1876, when the Japanese were able to take full control of the operations.

Later life Upon his return to France, Verny went to work at one of the largest mining companies in France (Compagnie des houllières de Firminy) at Firminy in Roche-la-Molière in January 1877 and rose to the position of director in September 1895. He then served on the Board of Trade of Saint-Étienne (1881–1900) of which he was secretary from 1883 to 1896. He was subsequently awarded the Legion of Honour.

Verny died on 2 May 1908 in his home in Pont d'Aubenas.

Legacy

Yokosuka became one of the main arsenals of the Imperial Japanese Navy into the 20th century, in which were built battleships such as , and aircraft carriers such as and .

Léonce Verny is remembered in Japan as a symbol of modernization and of friendship with France. A park has been built in his name ("Verny Park") on the seafront at Yokosuka, with a bronze bust of Verny, and a small museum. The Verny Commemorative Museum is located near the site of the former Yokosuka Naval Arsenal.

The dry docks built by Verny are still intact and are currently used by the US Navy as part of the United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka.