Paul Lancrenon

Marie-Paul Mathieu Lancrenon (26 July 1857 in Besançon – 10 July 1922 in Paris) was a French soldier and amateur photographer.

Biography Studies and military career Born into a prominent Besançon family − his father was a notaire − he studied at the École Polytechnique, leaving in 1876. He then joined the École d'application de l'artillerie et du génie at Fontainebleau.

In 1881, he was attached to the expeditionary force which took part in the march on Tunis which led to the installation of the French protectorate.

In 1890, he became a staff officer. As colonel, he commanded the 2nd Artillery Regiment in 1914. In December 1914, he was named brigadier general and took part in the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Verdun.

He died in 1922 at the Val-de-Grâce military hospital, the result of illness contracted at the front. He was declared "mort pour la France" in 1925.

In 1987, the French government acquired his photographic archive, comprising more than 5,000 negatives. They are now preserved in the French photographic archives.

Decorations 1894 : Médaille coloniale clasp : "TUNISIE" 1897 : Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur 1914 : Officier de la Légion d'honneur 1919 : Order of the White Eagle of Serbia