Eugène-René Poubelle (1833-1907) is born in Caen, where he learned the law. He became "préfet de la Seine" in 1883 and is famous for having ordered in January 1884 that the owners of every building in Paris must provide a trash can where the inhabitants must put their garbage instead of throwing it in the streets. The word poubelle has been used since then in french, meaning trash can.