 Born on 27 May 1760 in Rouen into an upper-middle-class family, Cauchy successfully studied at the Collège de Lisieux in Paris.In 1771 he received the top prize in the concours général.He became a lawyer at the Parlement of Normandy, and in 1783 he joined the office of the Intendant Général of Rouen, Louis Thiroux de Crosne.