Pont-Saint-Esprit
| Pont-Saint-Esprit | ||
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Saint Saturnin church and the medieval bridge over the Rhône River
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| Coordinates: 44°15′27″N 4°38′57″E / 44.2575°N 4.6492°ECoordinates: 44°15′27″N 4°38′57″E / 44.2575°N 4.6492°E | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées | |
| Department | Gard | |
| Arrondissement | Nîmes | |
| Canton | Pont-Saint-Esprit | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2001–2008) | Gilbert Baumet | |
| Area1 | 18.49 km2 (7.14 sq mi) | |
| Population (2012)2 | 10,651 | |
| • Density | 580/km2 (1,500/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 30202 / 30130 | |
| Elevation | 36–187 m (118–614 ft) (avg. 59 m or 194 ft) |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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Pont-Saint-Esprit (Occitan: Lo Pònt Sant Esperit) is a commune in the Gard département in southern France. It is situated on the Rhône River and is the site of a historical crossing, hence its name. The Ardèche River flows into the Rhône, just to the north of the bridge. The residents are called Spiripontains.[citation needed]
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Bouvier family origins[edit]
Pont-Saint-Esprit is famous as the town of origin of Michel Bouvier, a cabinetmaker, who was the ancestor of John Vernou Bouvier III, father of Jacqueline Kennedy.
1951 mass poisoning incident[edit]
On 15 August 1951, an outbreak of poisoning, marked by acute psychotic episodes and various physical symptoms, occurred in Pont-Saint-Esprit. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 persons interned in asylums and four deaths.[1] Most academic sources accept ergot poisoning as the cause of the epidemic, while a few theorize other causes such as poisoning by mercury, mycotoxins, or nitrogen trichloride.[2][3][4][5][6] It was also hypothesised that it was managed by the Central Intelligence Agency as part of its Project MKUltra.
Population[edit]
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1793 | 5,766 | — |
| 1800 | 4,055 | −29.7% |
| 1806 | 4,331 | +6.8% |
| 1821 | 4,545 | +4.9% |
| 1831 | 4,953 | +9.0% |
| 1841 | 5,239 | +5.8% |
| 1851 | 5,538 | +5.7% |
| 1861 | 5,123 | −7.5% |
| 1872 | 4,350 | −15.1% |
| 1881 | 4,726 | +8.6% |
| 1891 | 5,262 | +11.3% |
| 1901 | 4,798 | −8.8% |
| 1911 | 4,685 | −2.4% |
| 1921 | 5,801 | +23.8% |
| 1931 | 4,652 | −19.8% |
| 1946 | 4,149 | −10.8% |
| 1954 | 4,925 | +18.7% |
| 1962 | 5,778 | +17.3% |
| 1968 | 6,951 | +20.3% |
| 1975 | 6,709 | −3.5% |
| 1982 | 8,067 | +20.2% |
| 1990 | 9,277 | +15.0% |
| 1999 | 9,265 | −0.1% |
| 2006 | 9,661 | +4.3% |
| 2011 | 10,640 | +10.1% |
| 2012 | 10,651 | +0.1% |
International relations[edit]
Pont-Saint-Esprit is twinned with:
See also[edit]
Notes and references[edit]
- ^ Gabbai, Lisbonne and Pourquier (1951-09-15). "Ergot Poisoning at Pont St. Esprit". British Medical Journal. 2 (4732): 650–651. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.930.650-a. PMC 2069953
. PMID 14869677. - ^ Lisbonne, Gabbai (15 September 1951). "Ergot Poisoning at Pont St. Esprit". British Medical Journal. 2 (4732): 650–651. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.930.650-a. PMC 2069953
. PMID 14869677. - ^ Finger, Stanley (2001). Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function. Oxford University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-19-514694-3. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Pommerville, Jeffrey C.; Alcamo, I. Edward (2013). Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology: Body systems edition. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 734. ISBN 978-1-4496-0594-0. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Cavaciocchi, Simonetta, ed. (2010). Economic and biological interactions in pre-industrial Europe, from the 13th to the 18th century. Istituto internazionale di storia economica F. Datini. Settimana di studio. Firenze University Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-88-8453-585-6. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Frederick Burwick (1 November 2010). Poetic Madness and the Romantic Imagination. Penn State Press. pp. 180–. ISBN 978-0-271-04296-1. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
Further reading[edit]
- John G. Fuller, The Day Of St. Anthony's Fire (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1968).
External links[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pont-Saint-Esprit. |
- Tourism office website
- Document BBC Radio 4 programme on the Le Pain Maudit