A stroll through the history of Inalco
Illustrated with documents from our archives, each month they will highlight a singular episode in the lives of students, teachers and staff alike. A cycle of historical narratives proposed by the Scientific Information, Archives and Heritage Department (SISAP), in support of the "History of Inalco" project manager.
![Deux hommes dans une barque lors de la crue de la Seine en 1910](https://inalco.fr/sites/default/files/styles/1x1_sm/public/2024-06/Inondation_27_1_1910_rue_de_Lille_%5B...%5DAgence_Rol_btv1b69133715_1.jpeg?h=66d6157b&itok=wmrfwDM7)
Being located close to a river is not without its pleasures, but it also sometimes poses minor problems.
![Volumes de la Description de l'Egypte](https://inalco.fr/sites/default/files/styles/1x1_sm/public/2024-04/DSCF2332.jpg?h=f3e1135c&itok=LLtrrVx1)
If you've ever wandered around the Maison de la Recherche, you may have spotted a curious locked cabinet containing large-format books.
![apport présenté au ministre de l’intérieur au 27 nivôse an 9, 17 janvier 1801](https://inalco.fr/sites/default/files/styles/1x1_sm/public/2024-02/F_17_1143-Rapport.jpg?h=2671be3d&itok=BZLAH9gs)
Valérie Liger-Belair now occupies the position of "Director General of Services", but it is an old one, created just three years after the school was founded.
![Carte de la Commune de Paris 1871](https://inalco.fr/sites/default/files/styles/1x1_sm/public/2023-12/Commune_de_Paris_1871.jpg?h=cb916709&itok=9DH3VTh0)
In 1870, as the French and Prussian armies clashed, the École impériale des langues orientales went through a period of transformation and found itself caught up in the turmoil of the double siege of Paris.
![visite du personnel médical aux malades, dans le lycée Janson de Sailly transformé en hôpital](https://inalco.fr/sites/default/files/styles/1x1_sm/public/assets/images/hopital_jeanson_de_sailly.png?h=82915f7a&itok=GiOlNAgA)
When the Great War broke out, the ֤École was quickly called into action.
![Plan de Paris dessiné par Louis Bretez et gravé par Claude Lucas (détail de la Bibliothèque du roi), 1739](https://inalco.fr/sites/default/files/styles/1x1_sm/public/assets/images/plan_de_paris_dessine_.turgot_michel_btv1b531364413_56.jpg?h=fb8bccdd&itok=_f7x4M4x)
While students and teachers at Inalco can now take advantage of two buildings entirely dedicated to the study of oriental languages and civilizations, this was not always the case.
![Etudiantes du cours de chinois, année 1926-1927](https://inalco.fr/sites/default/files/styles/1x1_sm/public/assets/images/cours_chinois_1926.png?h=82915f7a&itok=hI1oQLLE)
In 1888, the first female students graduated from the École des Langues Orientales: Florence Groff in Persian and Marie Talbotier in Literal Arabic and Vulgar Arabic.
![Chauffage à l'air chaud par calorifère, Nouvelle encyclopédie pratique du bâtiment et de l'habitation. Volume 10, René Champly, 1910-1914](https://inalco.fr/sites/default/files/styles/1x1_sm/public/assets/images/nouvelle_encyclopedie_pratique_du_batiment.png?h=9bee70f2&itok=NoUru8UV)
With the onset of winter, the question of heating the classrooms is on our minds. This is not a new problem; it was already a problem when the school moved to 2 rue de Lille.