HAUVETTE-BESNAULT, Eugène-Louis. Malesherbes (Loiret) 15.2. 1820 — Malesherbes 28.6.1890. French Indologist. Professor in Paris. Studies at Séminaire de Saint-Nicolas, after matriculation tutor for the son of Minister of Education until 1848. Licencié 1848, soon agrégé des lettres. Worked as Librarian at École normale supérieure, during his leisure studied Sanskrit as one of the last students of Burnouf. In 1868, when “cours libres” (the future É.P.H.É.) were founded at Sorbonne, started teaching of Sanskrit, which he continued at É.P.H.É. as Directeur des études adjoint pour Sanscrit until his death. Also Librarian of École normal supérieure. He was married with Claire Amette (1832–1904) and had one daughter (married historian René Cagnal) and three sons, among them two future Professors of Sorbonne (Amédée H.-B., 1856–1908, Professor of Greek Poetry; and Henri H., 1865-1935, Professor of Italian Language and Literature).

Hauvette-Besnault concentrated more on teaching than on research and therefore published rather little. Among his students were Bergaigne, Darmesteter and Regnaud. His main work was the continuation of Burnouf’s Bhāgavatapurāṇa.

Publications: A “mémoire sur un choix d’hymnes du Rigveda, couronné par A.I.B.L.” in 1857, perhaps unpublished.

– Edited and translated: “Pantchâdhyâyî ou les cinq chapitres sur les amours de Crichna avec les Gopîs, extrait du Bhâgavata-purâṇa, livr. X, chap. XXIX–XXXIII”, JA 6:5, 1865, 373-445.

– A “Leçon d’ouverture sur les castes” 1868, see Revue des cours littéraires 7, 152.

– Continued Burnouf’s edition-translation: Bhâgavata Purâṇa. 4. P. 1885; at his death also vol. 5 was almost finished and was edited by Roussel in 1898.

– A few articles in JA, e.g. a review of Fauche’s Mahābhārata translation, JA 6:9, 1867, 205-238.

Sources: Darmesteter, JA 8:16, 1890, 20-23; Catal. général de la librairie fr. 9, 1876–1885; briefly French Wikipédia.