Paul Abadie
(1812/1885)
Architect. Student of the painter Alaux. He designed the Sacré-Coeur church on the Montmartre hill (1874).
Antoine d'Abbadie Thomson
(1810/1897)
Explorer and devout Catholic. He dedicated himself to mapping Ethiopia. Inventor of expeditious geodesy, an extremely precise surveying method which he put into practice in Ethiopia. Specialist in the Basque language.
Jacques Pierre Charles Abbatucci
(1791/1857)
Member of Parliament and later Minister of Justice.
Louise Abbéma
(1858/1927)
Louise Abbéma distinguished herself in decorative painting and portraits. Her very delicate style led her to design and paint for the great fan makers.
El Hadj Abd-el-Kader
(1807/1883)
An Algerian Sufi emir and theologian, he fought for fifteen years against the French occupation army.
Gaspard Abeille
(1648/1718)
French clergyman, poet and playwright. He was admitted to the French Academy in 1704.
Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat
(1788/1832)
Sinologist, reviver of this science in France. Doctor of Medicine, member of the council for the improvement of the deaf and mute (1824). He died of cholera in 1832.
Otto Abetz
(1903/1958)
German diplomat, ambassador of the Third Reich to Paris during the Occupation. A Francophile, he had worked, in the interwar period, for Franco-German reconciliation.
Jean Ablancourt (Jacobé de Frémont d')
(1621/1696)
Diplomat, writer, geographer and historian.
Abraham Constantin
(1785/1855)
Swiss painter, working on enamel and porcelain; he joined the Sèvres factory.
Laure Junot Abrantès (Duchess of)
(1784/1838)
A memoirist, friend of Josephine, wife of General Junot, her Memoirs on the Revolution, the Empire and the Restoration were a considerable success.
André Joseph Abrial
(1750/1828)
Minister of Justice under the Consulate, he was one of the drafters of the Civil Code.
Roman Abt
(1850/1933)
A Swiss railway engineer, he revolutionized the rack railway system and supervised the construction of 72 lines across the globe.
Adolphe Adam
(1803/1856)
Composer, author of numerous operas, and of the ballet Giselle, a major work in the history of choreography.
Juliette Adam
(1836/1936)
A woman of letters and a salon hostess, she notably published works on political life after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, a period during which her salon was frequented by influential writers and politicians. She founded the Nouvelle Revue (1879).
Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon, known as Adama
(1818/1881)
French photographer and sculptor.
Arthur Adamov
(1908/1970)
A playwright, writer, and translator, he frequented the Surrealists and was greatly influenced by the work of Bertolt Brecht. His work is marked by his political commitment.
John Quincy Adams
(1767/1848)
American statesman, sixth president of the United States for a single term, from 1825 to 1829.
Adelaide of France
(1732/1800)
Dauphine of France, daughter of Louis XV and Marie Leszczynska, nicknamed "Madame Adélaïde".
Clément Ader
(1841/1925)
French engineer, aviation pioneer. He was the first to take off and fly a motorized, heavier-than-air machine in 1890. He coined the word airplane.
Denys Affre (Mgr)
(1793/1848)
The 126th Archbishop of Paris, he was particularly interested in the question of education. He met his death during the June Days of 1848: having come to preach peace on the barricades, he was fatally shot.
Aga Khan III
(1877/1957)
Leader of the Nizari Ismailis, president of the General Assembly of the League of Nations in 1937 and 1938, he succeeded his father, Aga Khan II, at the age of 8.
Henry Welbore Agar-Ellis
(1761/1836)
2nd Viscount of Clifden (Ireland) and 2nd Baron of Mendip (1802).
Alexander Agassiz
(1835/1910)
An American zoologist and curator of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, he made important expeditions to Lake Titicaca.
Louis Agassiz
(1807/1873)
American-Swiss botanist, zoologist, ichthyologist and geologist.
Agnes of Savoy
(1445/1508)
Daughter of Louis I of Savoy and Anne of Cyprus, sister-in-law of Louis XI (through her sister Charlotte) and daughter-in-law of Dunois (Joan of Arc's companion) through her marriage to François I of Orléans-Longueville; she was Countess of Dunois and Longueville.
Marie d'Agoult
(1805/1870)
A woman of letters and mistress of Franz Liszt, she published historical and philosophical works under the name Daniel Stern.
Henri François Aguesseau (Chancellor of)
(1668/1751)
Chancellor of France, Advocate General to the Parliament, Minister to Louis XV. Great magistrate, great orator, he energetically opposed the registration of the Unigenitus bull.
Henri Cardin Jean Baptiste Aguesseau (marquis d')
(1752/1828)
Councillor of State. Deputy to the Estates General. Member of the French Academy (1787).
Pierre-Joseph Alary
(1689/1770)
French clergyman and man of letters. He was elected a member of the French Academy in 1723.