What is victor noir?

Victor Noir was a French journalist famous for the peculiar circumstances surrounding his death and subsequent legacy. Born Yvan Salmon on July 27, 1848, in Attigny, France, he adopted the pen name Victor Noir during his professional life. Noir worked for the newspaper "La Marseillaise," which was involved in a political feud with a rival newspaper that supported Prince Pierre Bonaparte, a relative of then Emperor Napoleon III.

On January 10, 1870, Victor Noir was killed by Prince Pierre Bonaparte. The incident occurred in Paris when Noir, who served as a second in a duel to be arranged with the Prince, visited Bonaparte's residence with a colleague. An altercation ensued, leading Bonaparte to shoot Noir. The killing sparked outrage among the French public, largely due to growing Republican sentiments and discontent with the imperial regime.

Noir's funeral became a massive political demonstration against the Second Empire, with tens of thousands of people attending. He was later buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where his tomb has become a tourist attraction due to the myth surrounding his life-size statue. The statute, created by Jules Dalou, depicts Noir as if fallen on the moment of his death, with a noticeable bulge in his trousers. Over the years, this led to a widely-followed legend that placing a flower in his hat, kissing his lips, or rubbing the relevant area could improve a woman's fertility, sex life, or prospects of marriage, resulting in the statue being polished and worn in those areas from frequent contact.

Victor Noir's death, trial, and the mythos surrounding him reflect the political and cultural climate of late 19th-century France and have kept his memory alive long after his untimely death.