For a short period he worked in railway construction; then, in 1852, he became the service inspector of Lausanne’s telegraphic system.

[1] Curchod represented Switzerland at the first International Telegraph Conference, held in Paris in 1865, which saw the birth of ITU.

Originally called the Bureau international des Administrations télégraphiques, the secretariat was supervised by the Swiss government and which also appointed its director.

For instance, the precursor of today’s ITU News (the Journal Télégraphique) was initially produced in Curchod’s own home with the help of his household.

[4] Curchod received many honours from member governments of ITU, including admittance to the French Légion d'honneur.