PYRARD DE LAVAL, François. Laval c. 1578 — Paris c. 1623. French Traveller in Maldives and India. Son of a trader. In May 1601 he sailed on Corbin one of the two ships equiped by the merchants of St.Malo, Laval and Vitré in order to compete with the Dutch E.I.C. in…
PRZYLUSKI, Jean (Jan Przyłuski). Le Mans 17.8.1885 — Mareil-sur-Loir 27.10.1944. French Indologist, South East Asian scholar and Linguist. Professor in Paris. Born of an originally Polish family, educated in Rennes and Paris. In 1907-13 at E.F.E.O. in Indochina, 1912 visited China. In 1913 returned to Paris and continued his studies under Lévi,…
PONS, Jean François. Rodez (Aveyron) 6.12.1698 — Chandernagor 1752/53. Father. S.J. French Missionary in India. Novice 1713, in 1726 arrived at Tanjore, from 1731 Superior of Bengal Mission in Chandernagor. In 1734 he visited the observatories of Delhi and Jaipur together with P. Boudier (1686–1757). Later also travelled in south,…
PAVIE, Théodore Marie. Angers (Maine-et-Oise) 16.8.1811 — 1.5.1896 (or 29.4.). French Indologist. Professor in Paris. Son of Louis Joseph Pavie (1782–1859), a printer, and Eulalie Fabre (died early), brother of the poet and art historian Victor Pavie (1808–1886). Educated at Collège Royal d’Angers. Travelled much in his early years, in…
PAUTHIER, Jean-Pierre-Guillaume. Mamirolle (Doubs) 4.10.1801 — Passy (Paris) 11.3.1873. French Sinologist and Indologist. Began his career as an infantry officer, in army he met Alfred de Vigny and started himself writing romantic poetry. After two and a half years left army in 1826 and pursuing studies of Sinology (Abel-Rémusat) and…
PARISOT, C.-C.-Valentin. Vendôme (Loir-et-Cher) 16.8.1800 — Paris 8.10.1861. French Literate interested in India. Professor at Faculté de Lettres in Rennes, Grenoble and Douai. Son of a musician. Studies at Pensionnat normal (future École normale supérieur). Schoolteacher in several towns, for a while theatre director, then Professor of Foreign Literature at…
VOLNEY DE CHASSEBOEUF (BOISGIRAIS), Constantin-François, comte de. Craon, Anjou 3.2.1757 — Paris 25.4.1820. French Asian Traveller, Historian, Philosopher and Politician. Son of Jacques-René Chasseboeuf (1727–1796), a lawyer, and Jeanne Gigault (1728–1759), of minor nobility. Studied classics in Paris and soon befriended with intellectuals. In 1782 left for Egypt, then travelled…
VIVIEN DE SAINT-MARTIN, Louis. Saint-Martin-de-Fontenay (Calvados) 22.5.1802 — Versailles 3.1.1897. French Scholar of Historical Geography. Born Louis Vivien, came to Paris in 1814. Worked as author and editor in Paris. Legion d’honneur 1867. He did not know Sanskrit and based his Vedic studies on Langlois’ insufficient translation. Publications: A number…
VINSON, Elie Honoré Julien. Paris? (thus French Wikipédia, English Wikip. claims Pondichéry and data.bnf.fr Bagnères-de-Luchon, Haute-Garonne) 21.1.1843 — Libourne (Gironde) 21.11.1926. French Indologist and Scholar of Religion. Professor in Paris. Probably born in France, but grew up in Karikal and Pondichéry, where his father was a civil servant, and thus…
VIENNOT, Odette. 23.1.1910 — 18.11.1992. French Indologist and Art Historian. Born in an artist family, studied ethnology, soon Indology at É.P.H.É. and Indian Art at Ecole du Louvre, under Ph. Stern. In 1951 chargée de mission in Musée Guimet, soon joined C.N.R.S. As an art historian she specialized in the…