CHAVANNES, Émmanuel-Édouard. Lyon 5.10.1865 — Paris 29.1.1918. French Sinologist and Buddhist Scholar. Born in a Protestant family, son of Frédéric.Émile Chavannes (1836–1909, an engineer) and Blanche Dapples (1844–1865, died after his birth). Educated in Lausanne, Lyon and Paris (Lycée Louis-le-Grand). In 1885-88 studies at École normale supérieure (agrégé 1888). Now…
BURNOUF, Jean-Louis. Urville near Valognes (Manche) 14.9.1775 — Paris 8.5.1844. French Classical Scholar interested in Sanskrit. Professor in Paris. Father of —> Eugène Burnouf (1801–1852) and uncle of —> É.-L. Burnouf (1821–1907). One of the 8 children of a poor weaver, lost early his father. In 1793 concluded the collège…
BURNOUF, Eugène. Paris 8.4. (or 12.8.?) 1801 — Paris 28.5.1852. French Indologist. Professor in Paris. Son of —> Jean-Louis Burnouf (1775–1844) and Marie Genoviève Chavarin (1776–1841), cousin of —> Émile-Louis Burnouf (1821–1907). Studied classical languages under his father and from 1822 at École de Chartes (licencié ès lettres et en…
BRÉAL, Michel-Jules-Alfred (born Michael Bréal). Landau (Pfalz) 26.3.1832 — Paris 25.11.1915. French IE scholar. Professor in Paris. Son of Auguste Bréal (1789–1839), a French-Jewish lawyer, and Caroline Worms (1803–1876). Educated in Wissembourg, Metz and Paris (Lycée Louis-le-Grand), then 1852-55 at École normale supérieure. Teacher in Strasbourg (1855) and Paris (Louis-le-Grand,…
BLOCH, Jules. Paris 1.5.1880 — Sèvres (Seine-et-Oise) 29.11.1953. French Indologist and Linguist. Professor in Paris. Son of a Jewish merchant, Salomon Bloch and Caroline Bernheimer, a modest unreligious family originating in Southern Alsace. After Lycée Charlemagne, studied in Paris (Fac. des lettres, etc.) under Lévi and Meillet (also Gauthiot, Foucher…
BIOT, Jean Baptiste. Paris 21.4.1774 — Paris 3.2.1862. French Historian of Science, especially Astronomy. Son of a treasury official, Joseph Biot (1740–1821) and Marie-Josephine Decressy, educated at Lycée Louis-le-Grand. Joined the army in 1792, but sent to home because of failing health in 1794. Graduated as an engineer and taught…
BERTHELOT, Pierre-Eugène-Marcellin. Paris 25.10.1827 — Paris 18.3.1907. French Chemist, famous for his work on Organic Chemistry. Also a Scholar of the History of Chemistry and Alchemy, and a Republican politician. Son of a physician, Jacques-Martin Berthelot (1799–1864), educated at Lycée Henri IV (befriended there with Renan). Studies in Paris, dr.…
BENVENISTE, Émile (born Ezra B.). Aleppo, Syria 25.2. or 27.4.1902 — Versailles 3.10.1976. French Iranian scholar and Linguist. Professor in Paris, naturalized as Frenchman in 1924. Son of Mathieu (Mathatias) Benveniste, of a well known Sephardim family of Turkey (originally of Spain), and Marie Malkenson (an Ashkenazi from Lithuania), both…
BAREAU, André. Saint Mandé (Seine) 31.12.1921 — Paris 2.3.1993. French Buddhologist. Professor in Paris. Son of an accountant, a modest family. After undergraduate studies at École normale supérieure. worked as schoolteacher and now also began studies under Filliozat and Demiéville. Licence de philosophie 1946, diplom of É.P.H.É. Dr. ès lettres…
AMPÈRE, Jean-Jacques-Antoine. Lyon 12.8.1800 — Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) 26/27.3.1864. French Scholar of History and Literature interested in India. Son of the famous scientist André Marie Ampère (1775-1836) and Antoinette Carron (1773–1803), lost early his mother. Educated at Collège Henri IV. Travelled in Europe and wrote himself poetry. In 1830 taught at…