Claude Pierre Étienne Camille Pernon

Place: Lyon

Born: 1753

Death: 1808

Biography:

Camille Pernon was a French silk manufacturer and politician. He was born on November 3, 1753, in Lyon, France. His father, Etienne Pernon, was the head of the factory since August 11, 1751. Camille Pernon's wife was known for her beauty and was noticed by Casanova, a Venetian adventurer who came to renew his wardrobe with the family of Lyonnaise silk weavers only to court Madame Pernon but paid on credit. In 1771, at the age of 20, Camille Pernon's father sent him on the roads of Europe to sell the fabrics of the house: first in Spain, then at the Polish court before going to Saint Petersburg where the young man managed to be presented to Catherine II of Russia. Being a handsome young man, Camille Pernon would have pleased the Empress but would not have lost his reason and would have taken leave after filling his order book. In 1783, Grand Catherine even named him 'agent of Her Majesty the Empress of all the Russias'. He was a member of the Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Lyon from 1800 to 1808.