Henri-Jacques Espérandieu (22 February 1829 – 11 November 1874) was an architect who made his career in Marseille, France. He was responsible for some of the most famous buildings of the city, including the "Bonne mère", Notre-Dame de la Garde.

Henri Espérandieu was born in Nîmes on 22 February 1829 to a Protestant family of modest means. At first he attended a Protestant school, where he was noted for his hard work. His father obtained a scholarship with which he entered the Royal College of Nîmes, where he showed a love for drawing and mathematics. He observed the construction of the church of St. Paul in Nîmes near his father's house, which triggered his interest in becoming an architect. Charles-Auguste Questel, a member of the Institute and architect of the palace of Versailles, supervised the construction of this church. His father arranged with Questel to get Espérandieu taken on by an architectural firm in Paris.

Henri Espérandieu left Nîmes on 23 October 1845 to go to Paris with his friend Ernest Roussel. He lodged with his uncle, a hotel manager in Paris, and in October 1845 joined the studio of Léon Vaudoyer. He enjoyed himself here, writing that it was a real pleasure to work in the workshops ... where the strongest helps the weakest.^[1] On 16 December 1846 he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He undertook paid studies to repay the financial contribution of his father, planning a railway station, a suspension bridge, a country house and others. In 1850, Questel took Espérandieu into his office and associated him in making the final drawings for the church of Saint-Paul de Nîmes. Questel was responsible for the maintenance of Versailles and for changes to the chateau, and associated him with this work and with monitoring the projects.

Beginning in May 1852, Espérandieu divided his time between workshops of Questel and Vaudoyer. The latter was responsible for construction of the Marseille Cathedral. The first stone was laid on 26 September 1852. Vaudoyer asked Espérandieu to be his representative on site. The official appointment of Espérandieu to oversee the work of the Cathedral was made on 22 May 1854. This was the beginning of his brilliant career as an architect in Marseille,^{[lower-alpha 1]} where he settled in 1855.

Henri Espérandieu's main works were the following:

Espérandieu died on 11 November 1874 at only 45 years of age from pneumonia contracted in the crypt of Notre-Dame de la Garde. His mortal remains were transferred from his home at 59 rue Saint-Ferréol to the Gare de Marseille-Saint-Charles for burial in the Protestant cemetery in Nîmes, where his childhood friend, Ernest Roussel, delivered the eulogy. He was a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

A street in Marseille located near the Palais Longchamp bears his name, as does a ship of the Friuli line. In the courtyard of the Palace of Arts a monument to his memory was erected, composed of his bust sculpted by André-Joseph Allar on a pedestal decorated with medallions representing his major works by Joseph Letz.