Carnot, Sadi (sädē` kärnō`), 1837–94, French statesman, president of the Third Republic (1887–94); son of Hippolyte Carnot. As minister of public works (1880–85) and of finance (1886), he remained untainted by the financial scandals of the time. He succeeded Jules Grévy in the presidency; his tenure was disturbed by the agitation for General Boulanger Boulanger, Georges Ernest (zhôrzh ĕrnĕst` b
..... Click the link for more information. and by the Panama Canal scandal, concerning bribery of public officials. He was assassinated by an Italian anarchist. Jean Paul Pierre Casimir-Périer succeeded him.

Carnot, (Nicolas-Léonard-) Sadi

(born June 1, 1796, Paris, France—died Aug. 24, 1832, Paris) French scientist, known for describing the Carnot cycle. Son of Lazare Carnot, he was an army officer most of his life. Convinced that Britain's advanced steam engines and France's inadequate use of steam were factors in Napoleon's downfall, he wrote a nontechnical essay on steam engines (1824). He subsequently developed a theory of heat engines, predicting that efficiency depends only on the temperature of the hottest and coldest parts and not on the substance (steam or any other fluid) that drives the mechanism. Though adopted slowly, his theory was eventually incorporated into the general theory of thermodynamics.

Carnot, (Marie-François-) Sadi

(born Aug. 11, 1837, Limoges, France—died June 24, 1894, Lyon) French politician. Grandson of Lazare Carnot and son of Sadi Carnot, he worked as a government engineer before turning to politics. After serving as minister of public works (1880–81) and finance (1885–87), he was elected in 1887 as fourth president of the Third Republic. He competently handled the plots by Georges Boulanger, anarchist agitation, and the Panama Canal scandals, and retained his popularity through 10 different governments but was assassinated in 1894 by an Italian anarchist.