Jules Isidore Dingler
Jules Dingler was a French civil engineer.
Born in 1836 in Lorient, the son of a professional engineer. He was educated at the Ecole Polytechnique and the Corps des Ponts et Chaussées.
In 1882 Dingler was asked by Ferdinand de Lesseps to join the Panama Canal project. He initially succeeded Alphonse Couvreux as consulting engineer for the company in Paris, and was then appointed director of works in Panama. He arrived in Colon on 1 March 1883, accompanied by Charles de Lesseps and and his family, comprising his wife, son, daughter and son-in-law. He was dynamic and effective, but by August 1885 he was close to physical and mental collapse, and he left for France. His wife, son and daughter had died of yellow fever. He was replaced by Maurice Hutin, who quit after a few weeks. He was replaced by Philippe Bunau-Varilla, aged just 27
Jules Dingler died in Paris on 3 January 1901, at the age of 65.
See French Wikipedia entry.