CORDIER, Henri. New Orleans 8.8.1849 — Paris 16.3.1925. French Scholar of Asian History. Son of Ernest-Eugène Cordier (1811?–1880), a Savoyan working in the U.S.A. as businessman and banker, and Amélie-Henriette Oudin. In 1852 he came to France with his mother and was educated in Paris, also while his parents were…
CORAL-RÉMUSAT, Gilberte de (née Gilberte Joanne Marie de Rémusat). Paris 17.12.1903 — Lausanne 18.10.1943. Mme. French Art Historian of South and South-East Asia. The only daughter of Pierre, comte de Rémusat (1864–1946), a politician, and Germaine Stieldorff, grandniece of —> Abel-Rémusat (1788–1832). Visited Angkor and met Finot and Goloubew, then studied at…
CŒDÈS, George (Georges). Paris 10.8.1886 — Neuilly-sur-Seine 2.10.1969. French South-East Asian Scholar (Historian and Epigraphist). Son of bank director Hippolyte Cœdès and Marie Carette. The family is sometimes claimed to have Hungarian Jewish origin, but according to Wikipedia his ancestors were already living in Strasbourg before 1740. Educated at Lycée…
CABATON, Antoine. Nérondes (Cher) 11.12.1863 — Vannes, Brittany 25.11.1942. French Physician and a Scholar of South-East Asia and Indonesia. Grew up in Paris and Orléans. Studies of pharmacy, then, after military service (1884-86), of medicine (Dr.med.), now also of Sanskrit at É.P.H.É. (Lévi) and Egyptology at École du Louvre. Soon…
BURNEY, Henry. Calcutta 27.2.1792 — at sea 4.3.1845. British Colonial Officer (Captain, 1834 Lieutenant-Colonel) and Diplomat in South-East Asia (Burma). Son of Richard Thomas Burney (1768–1808) and Jane Ross (1772–1842), father was the headmaster of Orphan School at Kidderpore near Calcutta. Joined Indian army in 1807. Attached to the 20th…
BOWREY (Bowry), Thomas. Wapping, London 7.9.1659 — Kent (?) 1?.7.1713. British Sea Captain in the East. Lost his father in the plague epidemic of 1665. Came alone to Madras as a child of 7 after the 1666 great fire of London. In India and South-East Asia in as sailing master,…
BERGAIGNE, Abel-Henri-Joseph. Vimy (Pas-de-Calais) 31.8.1838 — La Grave (Hautes Alpes) 6.8.1888. French Indologist. Professor in Paris. Son of a registrar, Sylvain Bergaigne (1795–1855), and Joséphine Césarine Aubron, educated in Amiens. He abandoned the financial career planned by his father and went in 1864 to Paris in order to study IE…
BÉNISTI (Monié-Bénisti, also Bénisti-Monié, née Sarfati), Mireille. Algier 10.10.1909 — 11.12. 1993. French Art Historian (Buddhist and Khmer Art). Born in Algeria came early to Paris. Suffered of ill health, but in November 1943 she joined the Comité Français de la Liberation Nationale in Algier, and worked after the war…
AYMONIER, Étienne-François. Le Châtelard (Savoie) 26.2.1844 — Paris 21.1.1929. French Colonial Officer and South-East Asian Scholar (the first European Specialist of Khmer and great pioneer of archaeology and epigraphy). Served in South-East Asia in 1869-88. Born in a family of agriculturalists in the then still Sardinian Savoy, son of Claude…
AUBOYER, Jeannine. Paris 6.9.1912 — Sèvres near Paris 6.2.1990. French Indologist (Art Historian). Conservator and Professor in Paris. Daughter of auctioneer Jean Auboyer (1881–1958), studies in Paris mainly at É.P.H.É. (under Pelliot, Przyluski and Mus) and École du Louvre 1929-34 (Hackin, Grousset and Stern), also at Inst. de l’Art et…