GALLOIS-MONTBRUN, Joseph Armand. Monaco 19.3.1793 — Nice 21.12.1875. French Colonial Officer. Son of Pierre Alexandre G.-M. and Jeanne de Montalembert. Served in Martinique (1833), Pondichéry, and Réunion. Légion d’honneur 1856. Finally archivist of Alpes-Maritimes. Married Bathilde Laforest (d.?), Chantal Montbrun (d. 1844) and 1846 Gabrielle Parizet, two sons (with first…
FOUCHER D’OBSONVILLE, Charles Thomas Dominique. Montargis (Loiret) 1734 — Château-Thierry (Aisne) 14.1.1802. French Colonial Officer, Scholar and Author. In 1753-71 in India in the service of French Company, 1771-92 commandant of French troops in Île de Bourbon (Mauritius) and Île de France (Réunion). Edited the French translation of the Tamil Bhāgavatapurāṇa…
CHANTRAINE, Pierre Louis. Lille 15.9.1899 — Paris 30.6.1974. French Classical (Greek) Scholar and Linguist also interested in India. Professor in Paris. Son of a classical scholar. Educated in Cambrai, studies in Paris and Lille (Ernout), in 1922–25 again in Paris (Meillet, also Vendryes, Bloch, P. Mazon). Ph.D. 1927. In 1925–28…
FANTIN-DESODOARDS (F. des Odoards), Antoine-Étienne Nicolas. Le Pont-de-Beauvoisin (Isère) 26.12.1738 — Paris 25.9.1820. French Former Clergyman, Historical Author and Revolutionary. Entered ecclesiastic career in 1750. Joined S.J., ordained priest, after the suppression of Jesuits spent some time as a refugee in Tuscany. Back in 1773 he became prior in Betteville…
FABRICIUS, Pierre. Berlin 23./30.4.1912 — 20.12.1988. French (of German origin) Indologist and South-East Asian Scholar. Student of Zimmer at Heidelberg, emigrated because of Nazis. In 194?-74 taught Greek and Latin in Phnom Penh, then Professor of Sanskrit (?) in France (or perhaps schoolteacher of German). Specialist of vyākaraṇa. Publications: Mainly…
DU JARRIC, Pierre. Toulouse 2.3.1566 — Saintes (Charente-Maritime) 1617. S.J. French Historian of Mission. Joined Jesuits in 1582. When his hope to become a missionary was not accepted he turned to writing mission history. Ordained priest he taught many years philosophy and moral theology in Bordeaux. Beside mission his work contains…
DECOURDEMANCHE, Jean-Adolphe. Paris 24.3.1844 — Paris 15.10.1916. French Pseudohistorian and Turkish Translator. No details of his life available. Publications: “La légende d’Alexandre chez les musulmans”, RHR 6, 1882, 98-112. – Études sur les racines Arabes, Sanscrites et Turques. 118 p. P. 1898. – Grammaire du Tchingané ou langue des Bohémiens…
CURIEL, Raoul. Cairo 23.6.1913 — Paris 23.2.2000. French (citizen 1947) Indologist, Iranian Scholar, Numismatist and Archaeologist. Son of Daniel C., and his wife Zephira, a wealthy banker, of a Francophone Sephardic Jewish family. In 1933 came to Paris for law study, but also studied Indology (Lévi, Bloch and Foucher), Iranian…
COSQUIN, Emmanuel-Georges. Vitry-le-François (Marne) 25.6.1841 — ibid. 18.4.1919. French Folklorist. Son of a lawyer, himself studied law, but turned to journalist career. The work of Grimm brothers led him to collect and study popular narratives. Corresponding member of A.I.B.L. 1902, from now on concentrated on his studies. Already in his…
CHOUNAVEL, Constant. Socourt, Saint-Dié (Vosges) 9.4.1825 — Borella, Sri Lanka 23.8.1923. O.M.I. French Catholic Missionary in Sri Lanka. Son of Joseph Ch. and Christine Pierron. Studied theology and took the habit in 1849. Ordained 1852 in Marseille and left for Ceylon. In 1852-83 served in Jaffna Vicariate, then in Colombo…