Édouard Lachaud

The son of a lawyer, Édouard Lachaud was a French physician and politician. Educated as a medical doctor, he held the positions of General Councillor for the Corrèze department and Municipal Councillor for Malemort. He served as Deputy for Corrèze in the French National Assembly from 1898 to 1919 representing the Radical Left parliamentary group. He initially served on the Public Health Committee, and from 1902 onwards, on the Army Committee, a role he retained throughout his tenure. During World War I, he served as a senior medical officer and chief physician at the Arts et Métiers temporary hospital. In 1916, he was appointed Knight of the Legion of Honour.

Lachaud was particularly interested in public health issues and later established himself as a specialist in matters of military hygiene and the role of physical education. He served on the interministerial commission tasked with drafting a manual for physical education instruction in 1904 and was subsequently invited to join other commissions addressing the same subject. In 1916, Lachaud presented a bill to the Chamber of Deputies mandating physical education and preparation for military service and establishing a framework for their implementation. He became an Honorary Member of the Union des sociétés de gymnastique (USG).

In addition, he was involved in tackling problems facing his home region, the Corrèze department. In 1912, he was defeated running for the Senate. After the end of his tenure as a Deputy, he continued to practice medicine in his hometown for a few more years and died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1923. In 1887, he intended to marry Jeanne Andrée Fabre in Paris, but the couple did not appear for the wedding ceremony.