GOBINEAU, Joseph Arthur, “comte” de. Ville d’Avray near Paris 14.7.1816 — Turin 13.10.1882. French Diplomat, Iranian Scholar and Theoretician of Pseudo-Scientific Racism. Son of Louis de Gobineau (1784–1858), a government official and eager royalist, who is said to have adopted the title of a count without right, and Magdeleine de…
GIRAUDEAU, Pierre-Philippe. Saint-Mars-de-Coutais (Loire-Inférieure) 17.3.1850 — Kangding (Dajianlu), Tibet 13.11.1941. French Catholic Missionary in Tibet. Son of Pierre Jean Giraudeau and Jeanne Guihal. Served in Franco-German war, then turned to religion, ordained priest 1876 in Nantes. In 1877 joined Missions étrangères and after seminary in Paris departed in 1878 to…
GIRARD DE RIALLE, Julien. Paris 27.9.1841 — Santiago (Chile) 23.11.1904. French Civil Servant and Diplomat interested in Indology and Ethnology. Graduated in 1861, travelled anonymously in the Balkans and wrote travel accounts. In 1865-66 by the order of French government in Syria. Privately he studied Sanskrit, Avestan and linguistics (also…
GENTIL, Jean Baptiste Joseph. Bagnols-sur-Cèze (Rhône) 25.6.1726 — Bagnols-sur-Cèze (Rhône) 15.2.1799. French Officer in India. Born in a noble family, joined the army and went out to India in 1752 as officer in an infantry regiment. “Served with distinction under Dupleix, Law of Lauriston, Lally, etc. After the collapse of…
GAUTHIOT, Robert-Edmond. Paris 13.6.1876 — Val-de-Grâce, Paris 11.9.1916. French Linguist, specialist of Iranian and Uralic, a Pioneer of Sogdian Studies. Son of a French teacher of German, Charles Simon Gauthiot, and a German mother, Elise Wilhelmine Augusta Langerhans (b. 1849). Educated in Paris at Lycée St.Louis (where his father was…
GARREZ, Pierre-Gustave. Rome 20.4.1834 — Paris 3.12.1888. French Indologist. Born in Rome, where his architect father, Pierre Gustave Joseph Garrez, lived as a pensionnaire of French Academy, educated in Paris at Collège Henri IV and Collège Louis-le-Grand. Left soon juridical studies and joined the army as a voluntary in 1854.…
GARCIN DE TASSY, Joseph-Héliodore-Sagesse-Vertu. Marseille 20.1.1794 — Paris 2.9.1878. French Indologist (Hindi-Urdu) and Oriental Scholar. Professor in Paris. Son of Joseph Jacques Garcin, a stockbroker, and Claire Virginie Tassy. Educated in Marseille, where he also learned spoken Arabic. From 1817 studies of law in Paris, at the same time Persian…
GABET, Joseph. Nevy-sur-Seille (Jura) 4.12.1808 — Rio de Janeiro 3.3.1853. French Lazarist Missionary in China. Son of a smallholder, went at the age of 15 to petit séminaire de Vaux, at 20 to grand séminaire de S.-Claude. Ordained as a priest at the age of 26. In 1834 he joined…
FOUCHER, Alfred Charles Auguste. Lorient (Morbihan, Bretagne) 21.11.1865 — Sceaux (Hauts-de-Seine) 30.10.1952. French Indologist, Art Historian and Archaeologist. Professor in Paris. Son of a teacher of literature, lost his mother at birth and father in his teens. Educated in Morlaix and Rennes. In 1881 came to Paris, now studies at…
FOUCAUX, Philippe-Édouard. Angers (Maine-et-Loire) 15.9.1811 — Paris 19.5.1894. French Indologist and Tibetan scholar. Professor in Paris. Son of a wealthy merchant from Angers, came to Paris in 1828 to study Oriental languages. He was a student of Burnouf and prompted by him started on his own to learn Tibetan from…