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 and Jeanne Gigault (d. 1759), of minor nobility. Studied classics in Paris and soon befriended with intellectuals. In 1782 left for Egypt, then travelled in the…
VIVIEN DE SAINT-MARTIN, Louis. Saint-Martin-de-Fontenay (Calvados) 22.5.1802 — Paris 3.1.1897. French Scholar of Historical Geography. Born Louis Vivien, came to Paris in 1814. Worked as author and editor in Paris. He did not know Sanskrit and based his Vedic studies on Langlois’ insufficient translation. Publications: A number of maps from…
VINSON, Elie Honoré Julien. Paris? (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 learned Tamil almost to…
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…
VEYSSIÈRE DE LACROZE, Mathurin (M. V. de La Croze). Nantes 4.12.1661 — Berlin 21.5.1739. French Oriental Scholar and Polyhistor. Son of a rich merchant, he left school and went to the colony of Guadeloupe to learn trade. Back in Nantes (1677) and after the bankruptcy of his father studied medicine…
VENDRYES, Joseph (Jean-Baptiste-Marie). Paris 13.1.1875 — Paris 30.1.1960. French IE, Celtic and General Linguist. Professor in Paris. Son of a civil servant, Albert V. and Marguerite Lambert. School in Paris (Lycée Louis-le-Grand). Studies in Paris under Meillet et al. (Sanskrit under V. Henry and S. Lévi). Agrégé de grammaire 1896,…