ABSTRACT
Considering that Isnard never achieved fame, influence or high office, the detail that can still be salvaged about the man’s life and career two centuries after his death comes as a pleasant surprise. It is remarkable that until relatively recently hardly any biographical details were known about the engineer-economist. As Jaffé (1969:22) notes, ‘even the most canny of historical sleuths, Joseph Schumpeter’ had been unable to turn up even the simples vital data about Isnard. Jaffé states this with a certain glee, because he had come across the forgotten doctoral thesis of Louis Renevier (1909). This work contains what remains to the present day the only detailed biography of Isnard based on primary sources. Jaffé‘s short sketch of Isnard’s life (Jaffé 1969:22-4) is entirely based on Renevier, as are subsequent accounts (Hébert 1987; Klotz 1994:30-2).
