Descartes, Indre-et-Loire

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Descartes
Town hall
Town hall
Coat of arms of Descartes
Coat of arms
Descartes is located in France
Descartes
Descartes
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Location within Centre region
Descartes is located in Centre-Val de Loire
Descartes
Descartes
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Country France
Region Centre-Val de Loire
Department Indre-et-Loire
Arrondissement Loches
Canton Descartes
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Jacques Barbier
Area1 38.08 km2 (14.70 sq mi)
Population (2009)2 3,817
 • Density 100/km2 (260/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 37115 / 37160
Elevation 37–121 m (121–397 ft)
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.

Descartes is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It is approximately 13 miles east of Richelieu and about 24 miles east of Loudun, on the banks of the Creuze River.

History

File:Descartes 1944 LOC fsa 8e02720.jpg
Liberation of Descartes (then La Haye-Descartes) in 1944

Initially called La Haye en Touraine, the town was the birthplace of the philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650), although his family home was in nearby Chatellerault. Descartes left La Haye in approximately 1606 to attend the College Henri IV at La Flèche.[1] The town was renamed La Haye-Descartes in 1802 in his honour, and then renamed again to Descartes in 1967.

Population

Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
1793 997 —    
1800 850 −14.7%
1806 943 +10.9%
1821 1,123 +19.1%
1831 1,293 +15.1%
1836 1,393 +7.7%
1841 1,459 +4.7%
1846 1,592 +9.1%
1851 1,633 +2.6%
1856 1,532 −6.2%
1861 1,620 +5.7%
1866 1,609 −0.7%
1872 1,722 +7.0%
1876 1,735 +0.8%
1881 1,608 −7.3%
1886 1,694 +5.3%
1891 1,806 +6.6%
1896 1,786 −1.1%
1901 1,622 −9.2%
1906 1,638 +1.0%
1911 1,697 +3.6%
1921 1,702 +0.3%
1926 1,670 −1.9%
1931 1,570 −6.0%
1936 1,537 −2.1%
1946 1,477 −3.9%
1954 1,466 −0.7%
1962 1,679 +14.5%
1968 4,267 +154.1%
1975 4,446 +4.2%
1982 4,357 −2.0%
1990 4,120 −5.4%
1999 4,015 −2.5%
2006 3,855 −4.0%
2009 3,817 −1.0%

Personalities

The town is notable in Acadian genealogy as the birthplace of the Heberts.

See also

References

  1. "Editor's Preface" in Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy (Hackett: 1998)

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