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Paris, France

LOCATION

Official Website:
http://www.paris.fr/

Population:
2,142,800 (2004 estimate)

NEWSPAPERS

Newspaper
Le Monde
Le Figaro
The International Herald Tribune

SCHOOLS

SchoolFounded
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
1975
HEC Paris
1881
Sciences Po
1872
Lycée Condorcet
1803
Lycée Henri-IV
1799
École Polytechnique
1794
Lycée Louis-le-Grand
1563
Collège de France
1530
Sorbonne
 
Paris Conservatoire
 
University of Paris
 
École Normale Supérieure
 

MUSEUM

MuseumFounded
Musée d'Orsay
1986
Musée de l'Homme
1937
Louvre
1793

ORCHESTRA

OrchestraFounded
Orchestre de Paris
1967
Orchestre National de France
1934
Orchestre Lamoureux
1881

VENUE

VenueFounded
Centre Georges Pompidou
1977

COMPANY HEADQUARTERS

CompanyFounded
GDF Suez
2008
Unibail-Rodamco
2007
Alcatel-Lucent
2006
Sanofi-Aventis
2004
Eurazeo
2000
BNP Paribas
2000
EADS
2000
Sanofi-Synthélabo
1999
Gameloft
1999
Alcatel
1998
Vivendi
1998
Orange
1994
France Telecom
1988
LVMH
1987
AXA
1985
IXIS Asset Management
1984
PSA Peugeot Citroën
1976
Essilor
1972
Sephora
1970
Cap Gemini
1967
Vallourec
1957
Carrefour
1957
Bouygues
1952
Dior
1946
Électricité de France
1946
Lancôme
1935
Air France
1933
Ipsen SA
1929
Publicis
1926
Total
1924
Valeo
1923
Groupe Danone
1919
Chanel
1909
Air Liquide
1902
Renault
1899
Van Cleef & Arpels
1896
Société Générale
1864
Crédit Lyonnais
1863
Louis Vuitton
1854
Agence France-Presse
1835
Hachette Filipacchi
1826
Caisse des Dépôts
1816
Banque de France
1800
Groupe Lagardère
 
Veolia Environnement
 
Pernod Ricard
 
Gaz de France
 
PPR
 

BIRTHS

NameOccupationBirthDeathKnown for
Isabelle Adjani
Actor
27-Jun-1955   Camille Claudel
Anouk Aimée
Actor
27-Apr-1932   La Dolce Vita
Maurice Allais
Economist
31-May-1911 9-Oct-2010 Monopoly pricing and the Allais effect
Guillaume Amontons
Physicist
31-Aug-1663 11-Oct-1705 Thermometrist
Louis Aragon
Poet
3-Oct-1897 24-Dec-1982 Communistic French poet
George Archainbaud
Film Director
7-May-1890 20-Feb-1959 Thirteen Women
Pierre Arditi
Actor
1-Dec-1944   Mélo
Roland Arnall
Business
29-Mar-1939 17-Mar-2008 Ameriquest billionaire
Raymond Aron
Philosopher
14-Mar-1905 17-Oct-1983 Political philosopher, social theorist
Olivier Assayas
Film Director
25-Jan-1955   Clean
Alexandre Astruc
Film Director
13-Jul-1923 19-May-2016 Les mauvaises rencontres
Jacques Audiard
Film Director
30-Apr-1952   A Prophet
Pierre Auger
Physicist
14-May-1899 25-Dec-1993 Auger effect
Jean-Pierre Aumont
Actor
5-Jan-1911 30-Jan-2001 La Machine Infernale
Sabine Azéma
Actor
20-Sep-1949   Same Old Song
Charles Aznavour
Singer
22-May-1924   Shoot the Piano Player
Joseph Babinski
Doctor
17-Nov-1857 29-Oct-1932 The Babinski sign
Jean-Sylvain Bailly
Astronomer
15-Sep-1736 12-Nov-1793 Histoire de l'Astronomie
Josiane Balasko
Actor
15-Apr-1950   French Twist
Jeanne Balibar
Actor
13-Apr-1968   Va Savoir
Albert Band
Film Director
7-May-1924 14-Jun-2002 I Bury the Living
Brigitte Bardot
Actor
28-Sep-1934   Voulez-vous danser avec moi?
Marie-Christine Barrault
Actor
21-Mar-1944   Cousin, cousine
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi
Scientist
30-Jul-1947   Co-Discoverer of HIV
Charles Baudelaire
Poet
9-Apr-1821 31-Aug-1867 Les Fleurs du Mal
Pierre Beaumarchais
Author
24-Jan-1732 18-May-1799 The Barber of Seville
Simone de Beauvoir
Activist
9-Jan-1908 14-Apr-1986 The Second Sex
Jacques Becker
Film Director
15-Sep-1906 21-Feb-1960 Le Trou
Jean Becker
Film Director
10-May-1938   Children of the Marshlands
Henri Becquerel
Physicist
15-Dec-1852 25-Aug-1908 Discoverer of radioactivity
Charles Bedaux
Business
26-Oct-1887 18-Feb-1944 Industrial efficiency expert
Cyrano de Bergerac
Playwright
6-Mar-1619 28-Jul-1655 Voyage dans la Lune
Henri Bergson
Philosopher
18-Oct-1859 4-Jan-1941 L'Évolution Créatrice
Georges Bernanos
Novelist
20-Feb-1888 5-Jul-1948 The Diary of a Country Priest
Sarah Bernhardt
Actor
22-Oct-1844 26-Mar-1923 French theatre actress
Claude Berri
Film Director
1-Jul-1934 12-Jan-2009 Jean de Florette
Marcellin Berthelot
Chemist
27-Oct-1827 18-Mar-1907 Chimie organique fondée sur la synthèse
Luc Besson
Film Director
18-Mar-1959   The Fifth Element
Didier Bezace
Actor
10-Feb-1946   The Little Thief
Francis Biddle
Government
9-May-1886 4-Oct-1968 US Attorney General, 1941-45
Juliette Binoche
Actor
9-Mar-1964   Chocolat and The English Patient
Jean-Baptiste Biot
Physicist
21-Apr-1774 3-Feb-1862 Biot-Savart Law
Georges Bizet
Composer
25-Oct-1838 3-Jun-1875 Carmen
Léon Blum
Head of State
9-Apr-1872 30-Mar-1950 Thrice Prime Minister of France
Giovanni Boccaccio
Author
1313 21-Dec-1375 Decameron
Nicolas Boileau
Poet
1-Nov-1636 13-Mar-1711 Satires du Sieur D...
Jean-Louis Borloo
Politician
7-Apr-1951   French Environment Minister
Paul Boucherot
Engineer
3-Oct-1869 7-Aug-1943 Ocean thermal energy conversion
Michel Bouquet
Actor
6-Nov-1925   Totò the Hero
Léon Bourgeois
Politician
21-May-1851 29-Sep-1925 French Prime Minister 1895-96
Louise Bourgeois
Sculptor
25-Dec-1911 31-May-2010 Crouching Spider
Daniel Bouton
Business
10-Apr-1950   CEO of Société Générale
Pierre Brasseur
Actor
22-Dec-1905 16-Aug-1972 Les Enfants du Paradis
Thierry Breton
Business
15-Jan-1955   CEO of France Telecom, 2002-05
Philippe de Broca
Film Director
15-Mar-1933 26-Nov-2004 King of Hearts
Maurice de Broglie
Physicist
27-Apr-1875 14-Jul-1960 X-ray spectroscopy
Jean de La Bruyère
Author
16-Aug-1645 10-May-1696 Les Caractères de Théophraste
Ferdinand Buisson
Activist
20-Dec-1841 16-Feb-1932 French pacifist, Nobel Prize recipient
Corinne Calvet
Actor
30-Apr-1925 23-Jun-2001 Sailor Beware
Philippe Camus
Business
28-Jun-1948   Partner, Groupe Lagardere
Julien Carette
Actor
23-Dec-1897 20-Jul-1966 The Grand Illusion
Marcel Carné
Film Director
18-Aug-1909 31-Oct-1996 Les Enfants du Paradis
Sadi Carnot
Physicist
1-Jun-1796 24-Aug-1832 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
Leslie Caron
Dancer
1-Jul-1931   Gigi
Robert Casadesus
Pianist
7-Apr-1899 19-Sep-1972 French pianist/composer
Tabatha Cash
Pornstar
27-Dec-1973   Gangbang Girl #9, Lesbomania #2
Jean-Pierre Cassel
Actor
27-Oct-1932 19-Apr-2007 The Crimson Rivers
Vincent Cassel
Actor
23-Nov-1966   Irréversible
Jacques Dominique Cassini
Astronomer
30-Jun-1748 18-Oct-1845 Director, Observatoire de Paris
Oleg Cassini
Fashion Designer
11-Apr-1913 17-Mar-2006 Fashion designer
Catherine of Valois
Royalty
27-Oct-1401 3-Jan-1437 Consort of Henry V of England
Augustin-Louis Cauchy
Mathematician
21-Aug-1789 23-May-1857 Infinitesimals, theory of substitution groups
Patrick Cescau
Business
1948   Group Chief Executive of Unilever
Claude Chabrol
Film Director
24-Jun-1930 12-Sep-2010 La Cérémonie
Henri, Comte de Chambord
Royalty
29-Sep-1820 24-Aug-1883 Pretender to the French throne
Albert Champion
Business
2-Apr-1878 26-Oct-1927 ACDelco and Champion spark plugs
Manu Chao
Musician
21-Jun-1961   Clandestino
Jean-Martin Charcot
Doctor
29-Nov-1825 16-Aug-1893 Father of neurology
Charles VI
Royalty
3-Dec-1368 21-Oct-1422 King of France, 1380-1422
Charles VII
Royalty
22-Feb-1403 22-Jul-1461 King of France, 1422-61
Charles, duc d'Orléans
Poet
24-Nov-1394 4-Jan-1465 Medieval French courtly poet
Pierre Charron
Philosopher
1541 16-Nov-1603 De la Sagesse
Maurice Chevalier
Actor
12-Sep-1888 1-Jan-1972 Love Me Tonight
Jacques Chirac
Head of State
29-Nov-1932   President of France, 1995-2007
Christian-Jaque
Film Director
4-Aug-1904 8-Jul-1994 Fan-Fan the Tulip
André Citroën
Engineer
5-Feb-1878 3-Jul-1935 Europe's Henry Ford
René Clair
Film Director
11-Nov-1898 15-Mar-1981 Silent film director, Paris qui dort
Robert Clary
Actor
1-Mar-1926   LeBeau on Hogan's Heroes
Georges Claude
Chemist
24-Sep-1870 23-May-1960 Neon lighting
Christian Clavier
Actor
6-May-1952   Les Visiteurs
François Cluzet
Actor
21-Sep-1955   'Round Midnight
Claudette Colbert
Actor
13-Sep-1903 30-Jul-1996 It Happened One Night
Coluche
Actor
28-Oct-1944 19-Jun-1986 Le maître d'école
France A. Córdova
Educator
5-Aug-1947   President, Purdue University
Gustave-Gaspard Coriolis
Mathematician
21-May-1792 19-Sep-1843 Coriolis force
Camille Corot
Painter
16-Jul-1796 22-Feb-1875 French landscape painter
Axel Corti
Film Director
7-May-1933 29-Dec-1993 Where To and Back trilogy
Marion Cotillard
Actor
30-Sep-1975   Taxi
François Couperin
Composer
10-Nov-1668 12-Sep-1733 L'Art de Toucher le Clavecin
André F. Cournand
Scientist
24-Sep-1895 19-Feb-1988 Cardiac catheterization
Pierre Curie
Physicist
15-May-1859 19-Apr-1906 Early investigator of radiation
Jean le Rond d'Alembert
Mathematician
17-Nov-1717 29-Oct-1783 Early work in partial differential equations
Vincent d'Indy
Composer
27-Mar-1851 1-Dec-1931 Symphonie Cévenole
Marcel Dalio
Actor
17-Jul-1900 20-Nov-1983 The Sun Also Rises
Nicholas Daniloff
Journalist
30-Dec-1934   Journalist jailed by Soviet Union
Denise Darcel
Actor
8-Sep-1925 23-Dec-2011 Vera Cruz
Jean Dasté
Actor
18-Aug-1904 15-Oct-1994 L'Atalante
Charles-François Daubigny
Painter
15-Feb-1817 19-Feb-1878 French painter of landscapes, ducks
Alexa Davalos
Actor
28-May-1982   Defiance
Jacques-Louis David
Painter
30-Aug-1748 29-Dec-1825 French Neoclassical painter
Jacques de Larosiere
Government
12-Nov-1929   IMF Director 1978-87
Alexandre Decamps
Painter
3-Mar-1803 22-Aug-1860 French romanticist, painted monkeys
Edgar Degas
Painter
19-Jul-1834 27-Sep-1917 Impressionist painter
Paul Delaroche
Painter
17-Jul-1797 4-Nov-1856 French academic painter; The Young Martyr
Gilles Deleuze
Philosopher
18-Jan-1925 4-Nov-1995 Difference and Repetition
Joseph-Nicolas Delisle
Astronomer
4-Apr-1688 11-Sep-1768 Founded St. Petersburg observatory
Jacques Delors
Politician
20-Jul-1925   EU Commission President, 1985-94
Julie Delpy
Actor
21-Dec-1969   Europa Europa
Mathieu Demy
Actor
15-Oct-1972   Our Precious Children
Catherine Deneuve
Actor
22-Oct-1943   Dancer in the Dark
Marianne Denicourt
Actor
14-May-1966   La Belle noiseuse
Claire Denis
Film Director
21-Apr-1948   Beau travail
Michel Déon
Novelist
4-Aug-1919 28-Dec-2016 Un Taxi Mauve
Antoinette Deshoulières
Poet
1-Jan-1638 17-Feb-1694 French poet-socialite
Henri Alexandre Deslandres
Astronomer
24-Jul-1853 15-Jan-1948 Spectroheliograph
Jean Desmarets
Playwright
1595 28-Oct-1676 Les Visionnaires
Diane de France
Royalty
1538 11-Jan-1619 Daughter of Henri II
Rudolf Diesel
Inventor
18-Mar-1858 30-Sep-1913 Inventor of the diesel engine
Georges Doriot
Business
24-Sep-1899 2-Jun-1987 Father of Venture Capitalism
Françoise Dorléac
Actor
21-Mar-1942 26-Jun-1967 Cul-de-sac
Betsy Drake
Actor
11-Sep-1923 27-Oct-2015 Every Girl Should Be Married
Jean-Claude Dreyfus
Actor
18-Feb-1946   Delicatessen
Marie Dubois
Actor
12-Jan-1937   La Menace
Georges Duhamel
Novelist
30-Jun-1884 13-Apr-1966 Civilisation
Paul Dukas
Composer
1-Oct-1865 17-May-1935 The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Louis Durey
Composer
27-May-1888 3-Jul-1979 Carillons
Romain Duris
Actor
28-May-1974   L'auberge Espagnole
Jacques Dutronc
Singer/Songwriter
28-Apr-1943   Les Cactus
Barthélemy-Prosper Enfantin
Religion
8-Feb-1796 1-Sep-1864 Saint-Simonist, cult leader
Renée Faure
Actor
4-Nov-1918 2-May-2005 The Little Thief
Marie-Madeleine de la Fayette
Novelist
1634 25-May-1693 La Princesse de Clèves
Gil de Ferran
Auto Racing
11-Nov-1967   Winner, 2003 Indianapolis 500
Alexandre Dumas fils
Playwright
27-Jul-1824 27-Nov-1895 La dame aux camélias
George Fitzmaurice
Film Director
13-Feb-1885 13-Jun-1940 The Son of the Sheik
Suzanne Flon
Actor
28-Jan-1918 15-Jun-2005 One Deadly Summer
Robert Florey
Film Director
14-Sep-1900 16-May-1979 Tarzan and the Mermaids
Noël Forgeard
Business
8-Dec-1946   CEO of Airbus, 2004-06
Léon Foucault
Physicist
19-Sep-1819 11-Feb-1868 Measured the speed of light
Antoine François Fourcroy
Chemist
15-Jun-1755 16-Dec-1809 French adherent to Lavoisier
Pierre Fournier
Cellist
24-Jun-1906 8-Jan-1986 French cello virtuoso
Anatole France
Novelist
16-Apr-1844 13-Oct-1924 French novelist
Catherine Frot
Actor
1-May-1956   Chaos
Jean Gabin
Actor
17-May-1904 15-Nov-1976 The Lower Depths
Serge Gainsbourg
Singer/Songwriter
2-Apr-1928 2-Mar-1991 Je t'aime ... moi non plus
Abel Gance
Film Director
25-Oct-1889 10-Nov-1981 Napoléon
Louis Garrel
Actor
14-Jun-1983   The Dreamers
Jean-Louis Gassée
Business
1944   Founder of Be, Inc.
Paul Gauguin
Painter
7-Jun-1848 8-May-1903 French post-impressionist painter
Ernest Gellner
Philosopher
9-Dec-1925 5-Nov-1995 Words and Things
Jean Genet
Novelist
19-Dec-1910 15-Apr-1986 Theatre of the Absurd
Genevieve
Singer
17-Apr-1920 14-Mar-2004 Singer on Jack Paar Show
Pierre-Gilles de Gennes
Physicist
24-Oct-1932 18-May-2007 Molecular structure of polymers
André Gide
Author
22-Nov-1869 19-Feb-1951 Le Voyage d'Urien
Kathie Lee Gifford
Talk Show Host
16-Aug-1953   Half of Regis and Kathie Lee
Annie Girardot
Actor
25-Oct-1931 28-Feb-2011 Rocco and His Brothers
Jean-Luc Godard
Film Director
3-Dec-1930   Vivre sa Vie
Nicolas Godin
Musician
25-Dec-1969   Half of the duo Air
Charles Gounod
Composer
17-Jun-1818 18-Oct-1893 Faust
Eva Green
Actor
5-Jul-1980   The Dreamers
Andre Gregory
Theater Director
11-May-1934   My Dinner with Andre
Anastasia Griffith
Actor
23-Mar-1978   Katie Connor on Damages
Olivier Gruner
Actor
2-Aug-1960   World Kickboxing Champion, 1987
David Guetta
Disc Jockey
7-Nov-1967   French house DJ
Alice Guy
Film Director
1-Jul-1873 24-Mar-1968 First female film director
Fromental Halévy
Composer
27-May-1799 17-Mar-1862 La Juive
Ludovic Halévy
Author
1-Jan-1834 8-May-1908 French vaudevillain author
Johnny Hallyday
Singer
15-Jun-1943   French rock star, Souvenirs, Souvenirs
Guy Hamilton
Film Director
16-Sep-1922 21-Apr-2016 Goldfinger
Françoise Hardy
Singer/Songwriter
17-Jan-1944   The Yeh-Yeh Girl
Basil Liddell Hart
Military
31-Oct-1895 29-Jan-1970 Military strategist
Michel Hazanavicius
Film Director
29-Mar-1967   The Artist
Claude-Adrien Helvétius
Philosopher
26-Jan-1715 26-Dec-1771 De l'Esprit
Pierre Henry
Composer
9-Dec-1927   Electronic music pioneer
Christian Herter
Politician
28-Mar-1895 30-Dec-1966 US Secretary of State, 1959-61
Robert Hossein
Actor
30-Dec-1927   Cemetery Without Crosses
François Hotman
Scholar
23-Aug-1524 12-Feb-1590 Franco-Gallia
Hugh Capet
Royalty
938 AD 24-Oct-996 AD King of France 987-96 AD
Karen Hughes
Government
27-Dec-1956   Counselor to George W. Bush
Isabelle Huppert
Actor
16-Mar-1953   La Pianiste
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Author
5-Feb-1848 12-May-1907 Decadent author, À Rebours
Jacques Ibert
Composer
15-Aug-1890 5-Feb-1962 Escales
Catherine Jacob
Actor
16-Dec-1956   Life Is a Long Quiet River
Benoît Jacquot
Film Director
5-Feb-1947   The School of Flesh
Jade Jagger
Relative
21-Oct-1971   Daughter of Mick and Bianca
Pierre Janet
Psychologist
30-May-1859 24-Feb-1947 Founder of Automatic Psychology
Stephan Janson
Fashion Designer
1957   Milan-based couturier
Pierre Janssen
Astronomer
22-Feb-1824 23-Dec-1907 Solar observer
Frédéric Joliot
Physicist
19-Mar-1900 14-Aug-1958 Artificial radioactivity
Irène Joliot-Curie
Physicist
12-Sep-1897 17-Mar-1956 Artificial radioactivity
Hubert Joly
Business
c. 1960   CEO of Best Buy
Father Joseph
Religion
4-Nov-1577 18-Dec-1638 Confidant of Cardinal Richelieu
Leon Jouhaux
Labor Leader
1-Jul-1879 28-Apr-1954 Union leader, Nobel Prize recipient
Odette Joyeux
Actor
5-Dec-1914 26-Aug-2000 Love Story
Jonathan Kaplan
Film Director
25-Nov-1947   Over the Edge
Mathieu Kassovitz
Film Director
3-Aug-1967   La Haine
Andrea King
Actor
1-Feb-1919 22-Apr-2003 Hotel Berlin
Alexis Korner
Musician
19-Apr-1928 1-Jan-1984 Pivotal British blues performer
Pierre Charles L'Enfant
Architect
2-Aug-1754 14-Jun-1825 Designed Washington, DC
Jacques Lacan
Psychiatrist
13-Apr-1901 9-Sep-1981 The Mirror Stage as Formative of the I
Christine Lagarde
Politician
1-Jan-1956   Managing Director, IMF
Pascal Lamy
Politician
8-Apr-1947   WTO Director-General
Henri Landru
Criminal
1869 25-Feb-1922 Bluebeard murderer of 10 widows
Paul Langevin
Physicist
23-Jan-1872 19-Dec-1946 Studied piezoelectricity
Victor Lanoux
Actor
18-Jun-1936   Cousin, cousine
Mélanie Laurent
Actor
21-Feb-1983   Inglourious Basterds
Alphonse Laveran
Doctor
18-Jun-1845 18-May-1922 Found the parasite that causes malaria
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier
Chemist
26-Aug-1743 8-May-1794 Father of modern chemistry
Jean-Pierre Léaud
Actor
28-May-1944   The 400 Blows
Ginette Leclerc
Actor
9-Feb-1912 2-Jan-1992 Le Corbeau
Patrice Leconte
Film Director
12-Nov-1947   The Girl on the Bridge
Adrien-Marie Legendre
Mathematician
18-Sep-1752 10-Jan-1833 Traité des Fonctions Elliptiques
Michel Legrand
Composer
24-Feb-1932   Film composer, The Windmills of Your Mind
Michel Leiris
Author
20-Apr-1901 30-Sep-1990 Surrealist, ethnographer, autobiographer
Luis Leloir
Chemist
6-Sep-1906 2-Dec-1987 Conversion of carbohydrates
Claude Lelouch
Film Director
30-Oct-1937   A Man and a Woman
Raymond Loewy
Designer
5-Nov-1893 14-Jul-1986 Father of industrial design
Claudine Longet
Musician
29-Jan-1942   TV actress got 30 days for murder
Michael Lonsdale
Actor
24-May-1931   Moonraker
Christian Louboutin
Fashion Designer
7-Jan-1963   Signature red-soled shoes
Louis VI
Royalty
1-Dec-1081 1-Aug-1137 King of France, 1108-37
Louis VIII
Royalty
5-Sep-1187 8-Nov-1226 King of France, 1223-26
Louis X
Royalty
4-Oct-1289 5-Jun-1316 King of France, 1314-16
William Louis-Dreyfus
Business
1932   Billionaire
Louis-Philippe
Royalty
6-Oct-1773 26-Aug-1850 King of France, 1830-48
Jean-Baptiste Louvet
Author
12-Jun-1760 25-Aug-1797 Mémoires de Louvet de Couvrai
Jean-Marie Lustiger
Religion
17-Sep-1926 5-Aug-2007 Archbishop of Paris, 1981-2005
Bernard Lyot
Astronomer
27-Feb-1897 2-Apr-1952 Sandstorms on Mars
Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist
7-Oct-1955   Cellist, The Silk Road Ensemble
Seán MacBride
Activist
26-Jan-1904 15-Jan-1988 Irish revolutionary, Nobel Prize recipient
Benoît Magimel
Actor
11-May-1974   Life Is a Long Quiet River
Nicolas Malebranche
Philosopher
6-Aug-1638 13-Oct-1715 De la recherche de la vérité
Stéphane Mallarmé
Poet
18-Mar-1842 9-Sep-1898 A Throw of the Dice
André Malraux
Novelist
3-Nov-1901 23-Nov-1976 La Condition Humaine
Étienne Louis Malus
Physicist
23-Jun-1775 23-Feb-1812 Polarization of light by reflection
Edouard Manet
Painter
23-Jan-1832 30-Apr-1883 French Realist/Impressionist painter
François Mansart
Architect
Jan-1598 Sep-1666 17th c. French Baroque architect
Sophie Marceau
Actor
17-Nov-1966   The World Is Not Enough
Gabriel Marcel
Philosopher
7-Dec-1889 8-Oct-1973 French existential philosopher
Jacques Marin
Actor
9-Sep-1919 10-Jan-2001 Charade
Jacques Maritain
Philosopher
18-Nov-1882 28-Apr-1973 Interpreter of St. Thomas
Pierre Marivaux
Novelist
4-Feb-1688 12-Feb-1763 Marianne
Reginald Marsh
Artist
14-Mar-1898 3-Jul-1954 Why Not Use the L?
Olivier Martinez
Actor
12-Jan-1966   Before Night Falls
Chiara Mastroianni
Actor
28-May-1972   Diary of a Seducer
George du Maurier
Artist
6-Mar-1834 6-Oct-1896 British caricaturist, Punch
Mathilda May
Actor
8-Feb-1965   La Teta i la lluna
Prosper Mérimée
Author
28-Sep-1803 23-Sep-1870 Carmen
Pierre Messmer
Head of State
20-Mar-1916 29-Aug-2007 Prime Minister of France, 1972-74
Jules Michelet
Historian
21-Aug-1798 9-Feb-1874 Histoire de France
André Michelin
Business
16-Jan-1853 4-Apr-1931 Founder of Michelin Group
Jo Mielziner
Designer
19-Mar-1901 15-Mar-1976 Broadway stage designer
Jean-Pierre Millon
Business
c. 1950   PCS Health Systems
Miou-Miou
Actor
22-Feb-1950   Germinal
Gaston Modot
Actor
30-Dec-1887 24-Feb-1970 Age of Gold
Henri Moissan
Chemist
28-Sep-1852 20-Feb-1907 Isolated fluorine
Molière
Playwright
15-Jan-1622 17-Feb-1673 Tartuffe, Le Misanthrope
Claude Monet
Painter
14-Nov-1840 5-Dec-1926 The Water Lilies
Jacques Monod
Scientist
9-Feb-1910 31-May-1976 Operon theory of genetic control
Pierre Monteux
Conductor
4-Apr-1875 1-Jul-1964 Music Director, SF Symphony, 1935-52
Liliane Montevecchi
Actor
13-Oct-1932   King Creole
Philippe Mora
Film Director
1949   Communion
Jeanne Moreau
Actor
23-Jan-1928   Jules et Jim
Fabrice Morvan
Dancer
16-May-1966   Half of Milli Vanilli
Pierre Moscovici
Politician
16-Sep-1957   EU Economic Commissioner
Alfred de Musset
Poet
11-Dec-1810 2-May-1857 Les Caprices de Marianne
Odette Myrtil
Actor
28-Jun-1898 18-Nov-1978 Out of the Fog
Napoleon II
Royalty
20-Mar-1811 22-Jul-1832 Infant emperor of France
Napoleon III
Royalty
20-Apr-1808 9-Jan-1873 Emperor of France, 1852-70
Gérard de Nerval
Poet
22-May-1808 26-Jan-1855 Unbalanced French romantic poet
Pierre M. Omidyar
Business
21-Jun-1967   Founder of eBay
Oscar I
Royalty
4-Jul-1799 8-Jul-1859 King of Sweden and Norway
François Ozon
Film Director
15-Nov-1967   Swimming Pool
Geneviève Page
Actor
13-Dec-1927   Belle de Jour
Anne Parillaud
Actor
6-May-1960   Nikita
Étienne Pasquier
Author
7-Jun-1529 30-Aug-1615 Recherches de la France
Étienne-Denis Pasquier
Politician
21-Apr-1767 5-Jul-1862 Last Chancellor of France
Frédéric Passy
Economist
20-May-1822 12-Jun-1912 International League for Permanent Peace
Georges Perec
Novelist
7-Mar-1936 3-Mar-1982 La Vie: mode d'emploi
François Périer
Actor
10-Nov-1919 29-Jun-2002 Nights of Cabiria
Charles Perrault
Author
12-Jan-1628 16-May-1703 Tales of Mother Goose
Jacques Perrin
Actor
13-Jul-1941   Z
Edith Piaf
Singer
19-Dec-1915 11-Oct-1963 Internationally-renowned French chanteuse
Francis Picabia
Painter
22-Jan-1879 30-Nov-1953 Cubist, Dadaist
Michel Piccoli
Actor
27-Dec-1925   La Belle Noiseuse
Jean-Marie Poiré
Film Director
10-Jul-1945   The Visitors
Roman Polanski
Film Director
18-Aug-1933   Chinatown
Elena Poniatowska
Journalist
19-May-1932   Mexican feminist writer, journalist
Éleuthère Irénée du Pont
Business
24-Jun-1771 31-Oct-1834 Founder of DuPont
Francis Poulenc
Composer
7-Jan-1899 30-Jan-1963 Les dialogues des Carmélites
Sir Edward Poynter
Painter
20-Mar-1836 26-Jul-1919 British Neo-Classical painter
Jean Racine
Playwright
20-Dec-1639 21-Apr-1699 Phèdre
Armand de Rancé
Religion
9-Jan-1626 27-Oct-1700 Trappist Movement
Louis Renault
Engineer
15-Feb-1877 24-Oct-1944 Founder of Renault
Louis Renault
Government
21-May-1843 8-Feb-1918 International arbitrator, Nobel recipient
Jean Renoir
Film Director
15-Sep-1894 12-Feb-1979 La Grande Illusion
Cardinal Richelieu
Religion
9-Sep-1585 4-Dec-1642 King of France's chief advisor, 1624-42
Charles Richet
Scientist
26-Aug-1850 4-Dec-1935 Studied anaphylaxis and ectoplasm
Sebastian Roché
Actor
4-Aug-1964   James Craig on General Hospital
François de la Rochefoucauld
Author
15-Sep-1613 16-Mar-1680 Maxims
Auguste Rodin
Sculptor
12-Nov-1840 17-Nov-1917 Sculptor in bronze
Jeanne-Marie Roland
Relative
17-Mar-1754 8-Nov-1793 French woman of intrigue
Georges Rouault
Painter
27-May-1871 13-Feb-1958 Expressionist painter of clowns, Christs
Théodore Rousseau
Painter
15-Apr-1812 22-Dec-1867 French landscape painter
Camille Saint-Saëns
Composer
9-Oct-1835 16-Dec-1921 Samson et Dalila
Henri de Saint-Simon
Author
17-Oct-1760 19-May-1825 Nouveau Christianisme
George Sand
Author
1-Jul-1804 8-Jun-1876 Lélia
Dominique Sanda
Actor
11-Mar-1948   The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
Victorien Sardou
Playwright
5-Sep-1831 8-Nov-1908 Les Pattes de Mouche
Nicolas Sarkozy
Politician
28-Jan-1955   President of France, 2007-12
Jean-Paul Sartre
Philosopher
21-Jun-1905 15-Apr-1980 Nausea, No Exit
Maria Schneider
Actor
27-Mar-1952 3-Feb-2011 Last Tango in Paris
Emmanuelle Seigner
Model
22-Jun-1966   Frantic
Georges Seurat
Painter
2-Dec-1859 29-Mar-1891 A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
Madame de Sévigné
Author
5-Feb-1626 17-Apr-1696 Eminent French letter writer
Léa Seydoux
Actor
1-Jul-1985   La Belle Personne
George Sluizer
Film Director
25-Jun-1932 20-Sep-2014 The Vanishing
Yeardley Smith
Actor
3-Jul-1964   Voice of Lisa on The Simpsons
James Smithson
Chemist
1765 27-Jun-1829 Chemist, funded the Smithsonian Institution
Martin Solveig
Disc Jockey
22-Sep-1976   Hello
Madame de Staël
Author
22-Apr-1766 14-Jul-1817 Important French romanticist
George Steiner
Critic
23-Apr-1929   After Babel
Eugène Sue
Novelist
26-Jan-1804 3-Aug-1857 Roman-feuilleton novelist
Sully Prudhomme
Poet
16-Mar-1839 7-Sep-1907 Parnassian poet
Violette Szabo
Spy
26-Jun-1921 5-Feb-1945 British secret agent, fought with French Resistance
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
Diplomat
2-Feb-1754 17-May-1838 Preeminent French diplomat
Jean-Lambert Tallien
Politician
23-Jan-1767 16-Nov-1820 French Revolutionary
Alexis de Tocqueville
Historian
29-Jul-1805 16-Apr-1859 Democracy in America
Jacques Tourneur
Film Director
12-Nov-1904 19-Dec-1977 Original 1942 Cat People
Michel Tournier
Novelist
19-Dec-1924 18-Jan-2016 Le Roi des aulnes
Marie Trintignant
Actor
21-Jan-1962 1-Aug-2003 Popular French actress, beaten to death
François Truffaut
Film Director
6-Feb-1932 21-Oct-1984 Last Metro
Roger Vadim
Film Director
26-Jan-1928 11-Feb-2000 Barbarella
Edgard Varèse
Composer
22-Dec-1883 8-Nov-1965 Poème électronique
Louis Le Vau
Architect
1612 1670 Architect for Louis XIV
Louis-Joseph, duc de Vendôme
Military
1-Jul-1654 15-Jun-1712 Marshal of France
Odile Versois
Actor
14-Jun-1930 23-Jun-1980 Le Crabe-Tambour
Jean Vigo
Film Director
26-Apr-1905 5-Oct-1934 L'Atalante
Hervé Villechaize
Actor
23-Apr-1943 4-Sep-1993 Boss, the plane! The plane!
Voltaire
Author
21-Nov-1694 30-May-1778 Candide
Sam Waksal
Business
8-Sep-1947   CEO, ImClone
Emma Watson
Actor
15-Apr-1990   Hermione in Harry Potter films
Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.
Politician
16-May-1931   Governor of Connecticut, 1991-95
Simone Weil
Philosopher
3-Feb-1909 24-Aug-1943 The Iliad, or the Poem of Force
Dominique Wilkins
Basketball
12-Jan-1960   NBA Hall of Famer
Claude Zidi
Film Director
25-Jul-1934   The Wing and the Thigh
Émile Zola
Novelist
2-Apr-1840 29-Sep-1902 J'Accuse

DEATHS

NameOccupationBirthDeathKnown for
Maurice Allais
Economist
31-May-1911 9-Oct-2010 Monopoly pricing and the Allais effect
Marc Allégret
Film Director
22-Dec-1900 4-Nov-1973 Entrée des Artistes
Yves Allégret
Film Director
13-Oct-1907 31-Jan-1987 The Proud and the Beautiful
Luther Allison
Musician
17-Aug-1939 12-Aug-1997 Electric blues player
Louis Althusser
Philosopher
16-Oct-1918 22-Oct-1990 Marxist theorist, anti-humanist
Guillaume Amontons
Physicist
31-Aug-1663 11-Oct-1705 Thermometrist
André the Giant
Wrestling
19-May-1946 27-Jan-1993 Professional wrestler with Giantism
Guillaume Apollinaire
Poet
26-Aug-1880 9-Nov-1918 Alcools, Calligrammes
Yasser Arafat
Politician
24-Aug-1929 10-Nov-2004 Palestinian leader, former terrorist
François Arago
Physicist
26-Feb-1786 2-Oct-1853 Investigated earth magnetics
Louis Aragon
Poet
3-Oct-1897 24-Dec-1982 Communistic French poet
Arletty
Actor
15-May-1898 23-Jul-1992 Les Enfants du paradis
Raymond Aron
Philosopher
14-Mar-1905 17-Oct-1983 Political philosopher, social theorist
Alexandre Astruc
Film Director
13-Jul-1923 19-May-2016 Les mauvaises rencontres
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber
Composer
29-Jan-1782 12-May-1871 La Muette de Portici
Pierre Auger
Physicist
14-May-1899 25-Dec-1993 Auger effect
Georges Auric
Composer
15-Feb-1899 24-Jul-1983 Theme for Moulin Rouge
Vincent Auriol
Head of State
27-Aug-1884 1-Jan-1966 President of France, 1947-54
Joseph Babinski
Doctor
17-Nov-1857 29-Oct-1932 The Babinski sign
Jean-Antoine de Baïf
Poet
1532 Oct-1589 Pléiade poet
Jean-Sylvain Bailly
Astronomer
15-Sep-1736 12-Nov-1793 Histoire de l'Astronomie
Josephine Baker
Dancer
3-Jun-1906 12-Apr-1975 Sensual dancer turned WWII spy
Antoine-Jérôme Balard
Chemist
30-Sep-1802 30-Mar-1876 Discovered bromine
Honoré de Balzac
Novelist
20-May-1799 18-Aug-1850 Comédie Humaine
Jean-Louis Barrault
Actor
8-Sep-1910 22-Jan-1994 Les Enfants du Paradis
Raymond Barre
Head of State
12-Apr-1924 23-Aug-2007 Prime Minister of France, 1976-81
Roland Barthes
Critic
12-Nov-1915 23-Mar-1980 Structuralist literary critic, S/Z
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi
Sculptor
2-Aug-1834 4-Oct-1904 Statue of Liberty
Georges Bataille
Philosopher
10-Sep-1897 8-Jul-1962 Histoire de l'oeil
Stiv Bators
Musician
22-Oct-1949 3-Jun-1990 The Dead Boys
Charles Batteux
Philosopher
6-May-1713 14-Jul-1780 Les Beaux-Arts réduits
Charles Baudelaire
Poet
9-Apr-1821 31-Aug-1867 Les Fleurs du Mal
Jean Baudrillard
Philosopher
29-Jul-1929 6-Mar-2007 Simulacra and Simulation
Otto Bauer
Politician
5-Sep-1881 4-Jul-1938 Austrian Marxist
Harry Baur
Actor
12-Apr-1880 8-Apr-1943 Un carnet de bal
Pierre Beaumarchais
Author
24-Jan-1732 18-May-1799 The Barber of Seville
Simone de Beauvoir
Activist
9-Jan-1908 14-Apr-1986 The Second Sex
Jacques Becker
Film Director
15-Sep-1906 21-Feb-1960 Le Trou
Samuel Beckett
Playwright
13-May-1906 22-Dec-1989 Waiting for Godot
Joachim du Bellay
Poet
c. 1522 1-Jan-1560 French Pléiade poet
Pierre Belon
Naturalist
1517 Apr-1564 L'histoire de la nature des oyseaux
Cyrano de Bergerac
Playwright
6-Mar-1619 28-Jul-1655 Voyage dans la Lune
Henri Bergson
Philosopher
18-Oct-1859 4-Jan-1941 L'Évolution Créatrice
Hector Berlioz
Composer
11-Dec-1803 8-Mar-1869 French romantic composer
Claude Bernard
Doctor
12-Jul-1813 10-Feb-1878 French physiologist
Sarah Bernhardt
Actor
22-Oct-1844 26-Mar-1923 French theatre actress
Claude Berri
Film Director
1-Jul-1934 12-Jan-2009 Jean de Florette
John Berry
Film Director
6-Sep-1917 29-Nov-1999 The Bad News Bears Go to Japan
Jules Berry
Actor
9-Feb-1883 23-Apr-1951 Le Jour se lève
Marcellin Berthelot
Chemist
27-Oct-1827 18-Mar-1907 Chimie organique fondée sur la synthèse
Alfred Binet
Psychologist
11-Jul-1857 8-Oct-1911 Binet-Simon intelligence test
Jean-Baptiste Biot
Physicist
21-Apr-1774 3-Feb-1862 Biot-Savart Law
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Playwright
8-Dec-1832 26-Apr-1910 Synnöve Solbakken
Louis Blériot
Aviator
1-Jul-1872 2-Aug-1936 First to fly across English Channel
Nicolas Boileau
Poet
1-Nov-1636 13-Mar-1711 Satires du Sieur D...
Emperor Bokassa I
Royalty
22-Feb-1921 3-Nov-1996 Central African Emperor
Yves Bonnefoy
Poet
24-Jun-1923 1-Jul-2016 Du Mouvement et de l'immobilité de Douve
Walerian Borowczyk
Film Director
2-Sep-1923 3-Feb-2006 The Beast
Jacques Bossuet
Religion
25-Sep-1627 12-Apr-1704 Discours sur l'Histoire Universelle
Pierre Bouguer
Mathematician
16-Feb-1698 15-Aug-1758 French photometrist
Pierre Bourdieu
Anthropologist
1-Aug-1930 23-Jan-2002 Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste
Bourvil
Actor
27-Jul-1917 23-Sep-1970 La Grande Vadrouille
Jean-Pierre Boyer
Head of State
28-Feb-1776 9-Jul-1850 President of Haiti, 1818-43
Louis Braille
Inventor
4-Jan-1809 6-Jan-1852 Reading system for the blind
Constantin Brancusi
Sculptor
19-Feb-1876 16-Mar-1957 Bird in Space
Georges Braque
Painter
13-May-1882 31-Aug-1963 Co-Founded Cubism
Robert Bresson
Film Director
25-Sep-1901 18-Dec-1999 Une Femme Douce
André Breton
Author
18-Feb-1896 28-Sep-1966 Manifeste du Surréalisme
Jean-Claude Brialy
Actor
30-Mar-1933 30-May-2007 Une femme est une femme
Aristide Briand
Politician
28-Mar-1862 7-Mar-1932 WWI French Prime Minister
Pierre Brice
Actor
6-Feb-1929 6-Jun-2015 Winnetou
Louis de Broglie
Physicist
15-Aug-1892 19-Mar-1987 Discovered the wave nature of electrons
Jean de La Bruyère
Author
16-Aug-1645 10-May-1696 Les Caractères de Théophraste
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Naturalist
7-Sep-1707 16-Apr-1788 Histoire Naturelle
Ivan Bunin
Author
10-Oct-1870 8-Oct-1953 Russian short story writer, Light Breathing
Maria Callas
Singer
2-Dec-1923 16-Sep-1977 Operatic Soprano
Marcel Camus
Film Director
21-Apr-1912 13-Jan-1982 Black Orpheus
Sadi Carnot
Physicist
1-Jun-1796 24-Aug-1832 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
Alexis Carrel
Doctor
28-Jun-1873 5-Nov-1944 Sutured blood vessels
Élie Cartan
Mathematician
9-Apr-1869 6-May-1951 Spinor groups
Henri Cartan
Mathematician
8-Jul-1904 13-Aug-2008 Leader of the math Bourbakistes
Robert Casadesus
Pianist
7-Apr-1899 19-Sep-1972 French pianist/composer
Jean-Pierre Cassel
Actor
27-Oct-1932 19-Apr-2007 The Crimson Rivers
René Cassin
Legal Scholar
5-Oct-1887 20-Feb-1976 Legal scholar, Nobel Prize recipient
Giovanni Domenico Cassini
Astronomer
8-Jun-1625 14-Sep-1712 Italo-French astronomer
Giovanni Battista Casti
Poet
29-Aug-1724 5-Feb-1803 Novelle Galanti
Alberto Cavalcanti
Film Director
6-Feb-1897 23-Aug-1982 Went the Day Well?
André Cayatte
Film Director
3-Feb-1909 6-Feb-1989 Verdict
Jacques Cazotte
Author
17-Oct-1719 25-Sep-1792 Diable Amoureux
Paul Celan
Poet
23-Nov-1920 20-Apr-1970 Todesfuge
Sergiu Celibidache
Conductor
11-Jul-1912 14-Aug-1996 Director, Munich Philharmonic, 1979-96
Claude Chabrol
Film Director
24-Jun-1930 12-Sep-2010 La Cérémonie
Feodor Chaliapin
Singer
13-Feb-1873 12-Apr-1938 Operatic bass
Philippe de Champaigne
Painter
26-May-1602 12-Aug-1674 Prolific French Baroque painter
Albert Champion
Business
2-Apr-1878 26-Oct-1927 ACDelco and Champion spark plugs
Jean-François Champollion
Historian
23-Dec-1790 4-Mar-1832 Deciphered the Rosetta Stone
Coco Chanel
Fashion Designer
19-Aug-1883 10-Jan-1971 Chanel No. 5
Stéphane Charbonnier
Cartoonist
21-Aug-1967 7-Jan-2015 Editor of Charlie Hebdo
Charles VI
Royalty
3-Dec-1368 21-Oct-1422 King of France, 1380-1422
Georges Charpak
Physicist
1-Aug-1924 29-Sep-2010 Subatomic particle detectors
Gustave Charpentier
Composer
25-Jun-1860 18-Feb-1956 Louise
Pierre Charron
Philosopher
1541 16-Nov-1603 De la Sagesse
François-René de Chateaubriand
Author
4-Sep-1768 4-Jul-1848 Génie du christianisme
André de Chénier
Poet
30-Oct-1762 25-Jul-1794 Greatest 18th c. French poet
Patrice Chéreau
Film Director
2-Nov-1944 7-Oct-2013 La Reine Margot
Luigi Cherubini
Composer
14-Sep-1760 15-Mar-1842 The Water Carrier
Maurice Chevalier
Actor
12-Sep-1888 1-Jan-1972 Love Me Tonight
Michel-Eugène Chevreul
Chemist
31-Aug-1786 9-Apr-1889 Chemistry of fats, dyes
Frederic Chopin
Composer
22-Feb-1810 17-Oct-1849 Composer for the piano
Roman Cieslewicz
Artist
13-Jan-1930 21-Jan-1996 Polish poster artist
André Citroën
Engineer
5-Feb-1878 3-Jul-1935 Europe's Henry Ford
Paul Claudel
Poet
6-Aug-1868 23-Feb-1955 French poet and diplomat
Georges Clemenceau
Politician
28-Sep-1841 24-Nov-1929 French Prime Minister, 1917-20
Henri-Georges Clouzot
Film Director
20-Nov-1907 12-Jan-1977 The Wages of Fear
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Government
29-Aug-1619 6-Sep-1683 Economic reformer under Louis XIV
Colette
Novelist
28-Jan-1873 3-Aug-1954 Gigi
Auguste Comte
Sociologist
19-Jan-1798 5-Sep-1857 Positivist founder of Sociology
Benjamin Constant
Politician
25-Oct-1767 8-Dec-1830 French political thinker
Paul Henri d'Estournelles de Constant
Diplomat
22-Nov-1852 15-May-1924 Nobel Prize recipient
Gustave-Gaspard Coriolis
Mathematician
21-May-1792 19-Sep-1843 Coriolis force
Alain Corneau
Film Director
7-Aug-1943 29-Aug-2010 Tous les matins du monde
Pierre Corneille
Playwright
6-Jun-1606 1-Oct-1684 Le Cid
Alfred Cornu
Physicist
6-Mar-1841 11-Apr-1902 Optics and spectroscopy
Camille Corot
Painter
16-Jul-1796 22-Feb-1875 French landscape painter
Julio Cortázar
Author
26-Aug-1914 12-Feb-1984 Argentine fantasy short story writer
Charles-Augustin de Coulomb
Physicist
14-Jun-1736 23-Aug-1806 Coulomb's Law
François Couperin
Composer
10-Nov-1668 12-Sep-1733 L'Art de Toucher le Clavecin
Jacques Cousteau
Activist
11-Jun-1910 25-Jun-1997 Oceanographer, environmentalist
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot
Inventor
26-Sep-1725 2-Oct-1804 Steam-powered automobile
Pierre Curie
Physicist
15-May-1859 19-Apr-1906 Early investigator of radiation
Georges Cuvier
Zoologist
23-Aug-1769 13-May-1832 Comparative anatomist, paleontologist
Jean le Rond d'Alembert
Mathematician
17-Nov-1717 29-Oct-1783 Early work in partial differential equations
Vincent d'Indy
Composer
27-Mar-1851 1-Dec-1931 Symphonie Cévenole
André Dacier
Scholar
6-Apr-1651 18-Sep-1722 French classical scholar
Édouard Daladier
Head of State
18-Jun-1884 10-Oct-1970 Three-time Prime Minister of France
Marcel Dalio
Actor
17-Jul-1900 20-Nov-1983 The Sun Also Rises
Robert-François Damiens
Assassin
9-Jan-1715 28-Mar-1757 Attacked Louis XV of France
Pierre-Jean David d'Angers
Sculptor
12-Mar-1789 4-Jan-1856 Sculpted pediment of the Panthéon
Georges Jacques Danton
Activist
26-Oct-1759 5-Apr-1794 Key figure in French Revolution
Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton
Naturalist
29-May-1716 1-Jan-1800 French comparative anatomist
Charles-François Daubigny
Painter
15-Feb-1817 19-Feb-1878 French painter of landscapes, ducks
Alphonse Daudet
Novelist
13-May-1840 16-Dec-1897 Lettres de mon moulin
Claude Dauphin
Actor
19-Aug-1903 16-Nov-1978 Barbarella
Jean Daurat
Poet
1508 1-Nov-1588 French Pléiade poet
Louis-Nicolas Davout
Military
10-May-1770 1-Jun-1823 Napoleonic General
Jean-Baptiste de Gribeauval
Military
15-Sep-1715 9-May-1789 French artillery general
Gerard Debreu
Economist
4-Jul-1921 31-Dec-2004 Supply and demand theorist
Claude Debussy
Composer
22-Aug-1862 25-Mar-1918 French Impressionist composer
Edgar Degas
Painter
19-Jul-1834 27-Sep-1917 Impressionist painter
Eugène Delacroix
Painter
26-Apr-1798 13-Aug-1863 19th century French painter
Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre
Astronomer
19-Sep-1749 19-Aug-1822 Histoire de l'Astronomie
Paul Delaroche
Painter
17-Jul-1797 4-Nov-1856 French academic painter; The Young Martyr
Gilles Deleuze
Philosopher
18-Jan-1925 4-Nov-1995 Difference and Repetition
Léo Delibes
Composer
21-Feb-1836 16-Jan-1891 Lakmé
Jacques Delille
Poet
22-Jun-1738 1-May-1813 French translator of Virgil
Joseph-Nicolas Delisle
Astronomer
4-Apr-1688 11-Sep-1768 Founded St. Petersburg observatory
Danièle Delorme
Actor
9-Oct-1926 17-Oct-2015 Gigi
Jacques Demy
Film Director
5-Jun-1931 27-Oct-1990 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Carlo Denina
Historian
1731 5-Dec-1813 Delle revoluzioni d'Italia
St. Denis
Religion
? c. 250 AD Patron saint of France
Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon
Artist
4-Jan-1747 27-Apr-1825 Napoleonic archaeologist
Jacques Derrida
Philosopher
15-Jul-1930 9-Oct-2004 Deconstructionism, Intellectual Terrorist
Pierre-Joseph Desault
Doctor
6-Feb-1738 1-Jun-1795 Surgeon at Hôtel Dieu
Réné Louiche Desfontaines
Botanist
14-Feb-1750 16-Nov-1833 Flora Atlantica Tunetano et Algeriensi
Antoinette Deshoulières
Poet
1-Jan-1638 17-Feb-1694 French poet-socialite
Henri Alexandre Deslandres
Astronomer
24-Jul-1853 15-Jan-1948 Spectroheliograph
Nicolas Desmarest
Geologist
16-Sep-1725 28-Sep-1815 Proved rocks can be igneous
Jean Desmarets
Playwright
1595 28-Oct-1676 Les Visionnaires
Camille Desmoulins
Author
2-Mar-1760 5-Apr-1794 Touched off the French Revolution
Patrick Dewaere
Actor
26-Jan-1947 16-Jul-1982 Les valseuses
Lady Diana
Royalty
1-Jul-1961 31-Aug-1997 Princess of Wales
Porfirio Díaz
Head of State
15-Sep-1830 2-Jul-1915 Twice President of Mexico
Denis Diderot
Philosopher
5-Oct-1713 31-Jul-1784 L'Encyclopédie
Marlene Dietrich
Actor
27-Dec-1901 6-May-1992 The Blue Angel
Assia Djebar
Author
4-Aug-1936 7-Feb-2015 So Vast the Prison
Gustave Doré
Engraver
6-Jan-1832 23-Jan-1883 Book illustrator on steelplate
Michel Duchaussoy
Actor
29-Nov-1938 13-Mar-2012 French character actor
Paul Dukas
Composer
1-Oct-1865 17-May-1935 The Sorcerer's Apprentice
François Dupeyron
Film Director
14-Aug-1950 25-Feb-2016 La Chambre des officiers
Pierre Dupuy
Historian
27-Nov-1582 14-Dec-1651 Historian, Librarian to Louis XIV
Marguerite Duras
Novelist
4-Apr-1914 3-Mar-1996 Hiroshima mon Amour
Deanna Durbin
Actor
4-Dec-1921 28-Apr-2013 It Started with Eve
Émile Durkheim
Sociologist
15-Apr-1858 15-Nov-1917 Rules of the Sociological Method
Julien Duvivier
Film Director
3-Oct-1896 30-Oct-1967 Pépé le Moko
Gustave Eiffel
Architect
15-Dec-1832 27-Dec-1923 Designer of Eiffel Tower
Georges Enesco
Composer
19-Aug-1881 4-May-1955 Oedipe
Barthélemy-Prosper Enfantin
Religion
8-Feb-1796 1-Sep-1864 Saint-Simonist, cult leader
Max Ernst
Painter
2-Apr-1891 1-Apr-1976 The Virgin Spanking the Christ Child
Erté
Artist
23-Nov-1892 21-Apr-1990 Art deco fashion designer and artist
George Etherege
Playwright
c. 1635 10-May-1692 Love in a Tub
Élie Faure
Art Historian
4-Apr-1873 31-Oct-1937 History of Art
Gabriel Fauré
Composer
12-May-1845 4-Nov-1924 Requiem
Dodi al-Fayed
Business
15-Apr-1955 31-Aug-1997 Princess Diana's last boyfriend
Marie-Madeleine de la Fayette
Novelist
1634 25-May-1693 La Princesse de Clèves
Fernandel
Actor
8-May-1903 26-Feb-1971 Prolific French comedy star
Leonor Fini
Painter
30-Aug-1907 18-Jan-1996 Surrealist painter, sex kitten
Suzanne Flon
Actor
28-Jan-1918 15-Jun-2005 One Deadly Summer
Ferdinand Foch
Military
2-Oct-1851 20-Mar-1929 Allied Supreme Commander WWI
Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle
Author
11-Feb-1657 9-Jan-1757 Nouveaux Dialogues des Morts
Léon Foucault
Physicist
19-Sep-1819 11-Feb-1868 Measured the speed of light
Michel Foucault
Philosopher
15-Oct-1926 26-Jun-1984 History of Sexuality
Antoine François Fourcroy
Chemist
15-Jun-1755 16-Dec-1809 French adherent to Lavoisier
Charles Fourier
Philosopher
7-Apr-1772 10-Oct-1837 Socialist Utopian
Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier
Mathematician
21-Mar-1768 16-May-1830 Fourier series
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Painter
5-Apr-1732 22-Aug-1806 The Swing
César Franck
Composer
10-Dec-1822 8-Nov-1890 Symphonic Variations
Maurice Fréchet
Mathematician
2-Sep-1878 4-Jun-1973 Fréchet differential
Edmond Frémy
Chemist
28-Feb-1814 3-Feb-1894 Discovered hydrogen fluoride
Serge Gainsbourg
Singer/Songwriter
2-Apr-1928 2-Mar-1991 Je t'aime ... moi non plus
Michel Galabru
Actor
27-Oct-1922 4-Jan-2016 The Judge and the Assassin
Franz Joseph Gall
Doctor
9-Mar-1758 22-Aug-1828 Invented phrenology
Mavis Gallant
Author
11-Aug-1922 18-Feb-2014 Prolific Canadian short story author
Abel Gance
Film Director
25-Oct-1889 10-Nov-1981 Napoléon
Romain Gary
Novelist
8-May-1914 2-Dec-1980 Roots of Heaven
Pierre Gassendi
Physicist
22-Jan-1592 24-Oct-1655 Exercitationes
Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac
Chemist
6-Dec-1778 9-May-1850 Researched gases, etc.
Daniel Gélin
Actor
19-May-1921 29-Nov-2002 Rendezvous in July
Jean Genet
Novelist
19-Dec-1910 15-Apr-1986 Theatre of the Absurd
Théodore Géricault
Painter
26-Sep-1791 26-Jan-1824 French Romanticist painter
Jean-Leon Gerome
Painter
11-May-1824 10-Jan-1904 French Orientalist painter and sculptor
Kurt Gerstein
Military
11-Aug-1905 25-Jul-1945 Holocaust collaborator and whistleblower
André Gide
Author
22-Nov-1869 19-Feb-1951 Le Voyage d'Urien
Vincenzo Gioberti
Philosopher
5-Apr-1801 26-Nov-1852 Rinnovamenlo civile d'Italia
François Girardon
Sculptor
17-Mar-1628 1-Sep-1715 French sculptor under Louis XIV and XV
Annie Girardot
Actor
25-Oct-1931 28-Feb-2011 Rocco and His Brothers
Bernard Giraudeau
Actor
18-Jun-1947 17-Jul-2010 Water Drops on Burning Rocks
Jean Giraudoux
Novelist
29-Oct-1882 31-Jan-1944 The Madwoman of Chaillot
Aleksandr Glazunov
Composer
29-Jul-1865 21-Mar-1936 Raymonda
Édouard Glissant
Poet
21-Sep-1928 3-Feb-2011 L'Intention Poétique
Carlo Goldoni
Playwright
25-Feb-1707 6-Feb-1793 Founder of Italian comedy
Rémy de Gourmont
Poet
4-Apr-1858 27-Sep-1915 Promenades Littéraires
Fernand Gravey
Actor
25-Dec-1905 2-Nov-1970 The King and the Chorus Girl
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Painter
21-Aug-1725 21-Mar-1805 French genre painter
Antonio Guzmán Blanco
Head of State
20-Feb-1829 28-Jul-1899 President of Venezuela, 1870-88
Brion Gysin
Artist
19-Jan-1916 13-Jul-1986 Inventor of the Dreamachine
Louis-Christophe-François Hachette
Publisher
5-May-1800 31-Jul-1864 French textbook publisher
Jacques-Salomon Hadamard
Mathematician
8-Dec-1865 17-Oct-1963 Prime number theorem
Samuel Hahnemann
Doctor
10-Apr-1755 2-Jul-1843 Founder of homeopathy
Ludovic Halévy
Author
1-Jan-1834 8-May-1908 French vaudevillain author
François Hanriot
Military
3-Dec-1759 28-Jul-1794 Led French revolutionary forces
Jean Hardouin
Scholar
22-Dec-1646 3-Sep-1729 Confused Jesuit scholar
Mata Hari
Spy
7-Aug-1876 15-Oct-1917 Framed by the Germans
Pamela Harriman
Diplomat
20-Mar-1920 5-Feb-1997 Socialite and Ambassador to France, 1993-97
René-Just Haüy
Geologist
28-Feb-1743 1-Jun-1822 Founder of crystallography
Jacques René Hébert
Activist
15-Nov-1757 24-Mar-1794 Revolutionary of the Paris Commune
Sadeq Hedayat
Author
17-Feb-1903 9-Apr-1951 The Blind Owl
Heinrich Heine
Poet
13-Dec-1797 17-Feb-1856 Buch der Lieder
Sonja Henie
Figure Skating
8-Apr-1912 12-Oct-1969 Norwegian figure skater
Henri II
Royalty
31-Mar-1519 10-Jul-1559 King of France, 1547-59
Henri IV
Royalty
13-Dec-1553 14-May-1610 King of France, 1589-1610
Myron T. Herrick
Politician
9-Oct-1854 31-Mar-1929 Governor of Ohio, 1904-06
Robert Hersant
Publisher
30-Jan-1920 21-Apr-1996 Le Papivore
Arthur Honegger
Composer
10-Mar-1892 27-Nov-1955 Pacific 231
Jean-Antoine Houdon
Sculptor
20-Mar-1741 15-Jul-1828 French Rococo sculptor
Pierre-Daniel Huet
Religion
8-Feb-1630 26-Jan-1721 Bishop of Avranches
Hugh Capet
Royalty
938 AD 24-Oct-996 AD King of France 987-96 AD
Victor Hugo
Author
26-Feb-1802 23-May-1885 Les Miserables
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Author
5-Feb-1848 12-May-1907 Decadent author, À Rebours
Jacques Ibert
Composer
15-Aug-1890 5-Feb-1962 Escales
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Painter
29-Aug-1780 14-Jan-1867 Odalisque
Eugène Ionesco
Playwright
26-Nov-1912 28-Mar-1994 The Bald Soprano
Edmond Jabès
Poet
6-Apr-1912 2-Jan-1991 The Book of Resemblances
Pierre Janet
Psychologist
30-May-1859 24-Feb-1947 Founder of Automatic Psychology
Alfred Jarry
Playwright
8-Sep-1873 1-Nov-1907 Ubu roi
Jean Jaurès
Politician
3-Sep-1859 31-Jul-1914 French socialist leader
Russell Johnston
Politician
28-Jul-1932 27-Jul-2008 Liberal MP from Inverness, 1964-97
Eugene Jolas
Editor
26-Oct-1894 26-May-1952 transition
Irène Joliot-Curie
Physicist
12-Sep-1897 17-Mar-1956 Artificial radioactivity
John Paul Jones
Military
6-Jul-1747 18-Jul-1792 Has not yet begun to fight
Leon Jouhaux
Labor Leader
1-Jul-1879 28-Apr-1954 Union leader, Nobel Prize recipient
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Military
29-Apr-1762 23-Nov-1833 Forced Austrians over the Rhine
Louis Jouvet
Actor
24-Dec-1887 16-Aug-1951 The Strange Adventures of Doctor Molyneaux
Gaston Julia
Mathematician
3-Feb-1893 19-Mar-1978 Creator of the Julia Sets
Aly Khan
Royalty
13-Jun-1911 12-May-1960 Jet-set Ismaili playboy prince
Abbas Kiarostami
Film Director
22-Jun-1940 4-Jul-2016 Taste of Cherry
Alfred Kroeber
Anthropologist
11-Jun-1876 5-Oct-1960 Pioneer in American Anthropology
Jean de la Fontaine
Poet
8-Jul-1621 13-Apr-1695 Fables and Contes
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Astronomer
15-May-1713 21-Mar-1762 Coelum Australe Stelliferum
Jacques Lacan
Psychiatrist
13-Apr-1901 9-Sep-1981 The Mirror Stage as Formative of the I
Marquis de Lafayette
Military
6-Sep-1757 20-May-1834 French revolutionary in America
Jules Laforgue
Poet
16-Aug-1860 20-Aug-1887 Pessimistic poet who inspired T. S. Eliot
Joseph-Louis Lagrange
Mathematician
25-Jan-1736 10-Apr-1813 Mécanique Analytique
Édouard Lalo
Composer
27-Jan-1823 22-Apr-1892 Le Roi d'Ys
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Biologist
1-Aug-1744 18-Dec-1829 Early invertebrate biologist, evolutionary theorist
Alphonse de Lamartine
Poet
21-Oct-1790 28-Feb-1869 Bland French poet, failed politician
Paul Langevin
Physicist
23-Jan-1872 19-Dec-1946 Studied piezoelectricity
Jean Langlais
Composer
15-Feb-1907 8-May-1991 Organist and composer
Pierre-Simon Laplace
Mathematician
23-Mar-1749 5-Mar-1827 Traité du Mécanique Céleste
Victor de Laprade
Poet
13-Jan-1812 13-Dec-1883 Les Muses d'État
Georges Lautner
Film Director
24-Jan-1926 22-Nov-2013 The Professional
Comte de Lautréamont
Poet
4-Apr-1846 24-Nov-1870 Les Chants de Maldoror
Alphonse Laveran
Doctor
18-Jun-1845 18-May-1922 Found the parasite that causes malaria
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier
Chemist
26-Aug-1743 8-May-1794 Father of modern chemistry
Jacques Le Goff
Historian
1-Jan-1924 1-Apr-2014 Historian of the Middle Ages
Maurice Leblanc
Novelist
11-Dec-1864 6-Nov-1941 Creator of Arsène Lupin
Ginette Leclerc
Actor
9-Feb-1912 2-Jan-1992 Le Corbeau
Fernand Ledoux
Actor
24-Jan-1897 21-Sep-1993 La Bête Humaine
Anne Lefèvre
Scholar
1654 17-Aug-1720 Translator of Homer into French
Adrien-Marie Legendre
Mathematician
18-Sep-1752 10-Jan-1833 Traité des Fonctions Elliptiques
Emmanuel Levinas
Philosopher
12-Jan-1906 25-Dec-1995 Totality and Infinity
Max Linder
Actor
16-Dec-1883 31-Oct-1925 Seven Years Bad Luck
James Lord
Author
27-Nov-1922 23-Aug-2009 Giacometti: A Biography
Louis Philippe Joseph, duc d'Orléans
Royalty
13-Apr-1747 6-Nov-1793 Philippe Égalité
Louis XVI
Royalty
23-Aug-1754 21-Jan-1793 King of France, 1774-91
Louis XVII
Royalty
27-Mar-1785 8-Jun-1795 Dauphin, Titular King of France
Louis XVIII
Royalty
17-Nov-1755 16-Sep-1824 King of France, 1814-15 & 1815-24
Jean-Baptiste Louvet
Author
12-Jun-1760 25-Aug-1797 Mémoires de Louvet de Couvrai
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Composer
28-Nov-1632 22-Mar-1687 Founder of French opera
Jean-Marie Lustiger
Religion
17-Sep-1926 5-Aug-2007 Archbishop of Paris, 1981-2005
André Lwoff
Scientist
8-May-1902 30-Sep-1994 Operon theory of genetic control
Jean-François Lyotard
Philosopher
10-Aug-1924 21-Apr-1998 Founder of Postmodernism
Rowland H. Macy
Business
30-Aug-1822 29-Mar-1877 Founder of Macy's department stores
Angus Maddison
Economist
6-Dec-1926 24-Apr-2010 Contours of the World Economy, 1-2030 AD
Nicolas Malebranche
Philosopher
6-Aug-1638 13-Oct-1715 De la recherche de la vérité
François de Malherbe
Poet
1555 16-Oct-1628 Larmes de Saint Pierre
André Malraux
Novelist
3-Nov-1901 23-Nov-1976 La Condition Humaine
Étienne Louis Malus
Physicist
23-Jun-1775 23-Feb-1812 Polarization of light by reflection
Edouard Manet
Painter
23-Jan-1832 30-Apr-1883 French Realist/Impressionist painter
François Mansart
Architect
Jan-1598 Sep-1666 17th c. French Baroque architect
Jean-Paul Marat
Activist
24-May-1743 13-Jul-1793 French revolutionary
Marcel Marceau
Performance Artist
22-Mar-1923 22-Sep-2007 Mime, created Bip the clown
Gabriel Marcel
Philosopher
7-Dec-1889 8-Oct-1973 French existential philosopher
Margaret of Valois
Royalty
14-May-1553 27-Mar-1615 Consort of Henry of Navarre
Marie Antoinette
Royalty
2-Nov-1755 16-Oct-1793 Cake proponent
Edme Mariotte
Scientist
c. 1620 12-May-1684 Discovered eye's blind spot
Pierre Marivaux
Novelist
4-Feb-1688 12-Feb-1763 Marianne
Chris Marker
Film Director
29-Jul-1921 29-Jul-2012 La jetée
Jean Martinon
Conductor
10-Jan-1910 1-Mar-1976 Music Director, Chicago Symphony, 1963-68
André Masséna
Military
6-May-1758 4-Apr-1817 Napoleon's greatest marshal
Jules Massenet
Composer
12-May-1842 13-Aug-1912 Manon
Marcello Mastroianni
Actor
28-Sep-1924 19-Dec-1996 The Pizza Triangle
Guy de Maupassant
Author
5-Aug-1850 6-Jul-1893 French short story writer
François Mauriac
Novelist
11-Oct-1885 1-Sep-1970 Le Noeud de Vipères
André Maurois
Author
26-Jul-1885 9-Oct-1967 French biographer
Pierre Mauroy
Head of State
5-Jul-1928 7-Jun-2013 Prime Minister of France, 1981-84
Marcel Mauss
Sociologist
10-May-1872 10-Feb-1950 The Gift
Ilya Mechnikov
Scientist
16-May-1845 16-Jul-1916 Researched the immune system
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Philosopher
14-Mar-1908 4-May-1961 Phenomenology of Perception
Marin Mersenne
Mathematician
8-Sep-1588 1-Sep-1648 L'Harmonie universelle
Charles Messier
Astronomer
26-Jun-1730 12-Apr-1817 Cataloguer of M objects
Pierre Messmer
Head of State
20-Mar-1916 29-Aug-2007 Prime Minister of France, 1972-74
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Composer
5-Sep-1791 2-May-1864 Robert le Diable
André Michelin
Business
16-Jan-1853 4-Apr-1931 Founder of Michelin Group
Octave Mirbeau
Novelist
16-Feb-1850 16-Feb-1917 Le Jardin des supplices
François Mitterrand
Head of State
26-Oct-1916 8-Jan-1996 President of France, 1981-95
Amedeo Modigliani
Sculptor
12-Jul-1884 24-Jan-1920 Cubist Italian sculptor and painter
Gaston Modot
Actor
30-Dec-1887 24-Feb-1970 Age of Gold
Henri Moissan
Chemist
28-Sep-1852 20-Feb-1907 Isolated fluorine
Molière
Playwright
15-Jan-1622 17-Feb-1673 Tartuffe, Le Misanthrope
Édouard Molinaro
Film Director
31-May-1928 7-Dec-2013 La cage aux folles
Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu
Philosopher
18-Jan-1689 10-Feb-1755 De l'Esprit des Lois
Maria Montez
Actor
6-Jun-1912 7-Sep-1951 The Exile
Berthe Morisot
Painter
14-Jan-1841 2-Mar-1895 French Impressionist painter
Jim Morrison
Singer/Songwriter
8-Dec-1943 3-Jul-1971 Lead singer and songwriter, The Doors
Alfred de Musset
Poet
11-Dec-1810 2-May-1857 Les Caprices de Marianne
Levy Mwanawasa
Head of State
3-Sep-1948 19-Aug-2008 President of Zambia, 2002-08
Gérard de Nerval
Poet
22-May-1808 26-Jan-1855 Unbalanced French romantic poet
Michel Ney
Military
10-Jan-1769 7-Dec-1815 Napoleonic General
Max Nordau
Critic
29-Jul-1849 23-Jan-1923 Zionist and cultural critic, Degeneration
Rudolf Nureyev
Dancer
17-Mar-1938 6-Jan-1993 Defected to France from Kirov Ballet
Jacques Offenbach
Composer
20-Jun-1819 5-Oct-1880 Inventor of the the opérette
Felice Orsini
Assassin
1819 13-Mar-1858 Attempted assassin of Napoleon III
Nicolas-Charles Oudinot
Military
25-Apr-1767 13-Sep-1847 Napoleonic General
Marcel Pagnol
Screenwriter
28-Feb-1895 18-Apr-1974 Jean de Florette
Robert Palmer
Singer
19-Jan-1949 26-Sep-2003 Addicted To Love
Maurice Papon
Criminal
3-Sep-1910 17-Feb-2007 Vichy war criminal
Ambroise Paré
Doctor
1510 20-Dec-1590 Prominent 16th c. French surgeon
Blaise Pascal
Mathematician
19-Jun-1623 19-Aug-1662 French thinker and mathematician
Étienne Pasquier
Author
7-Jun-1529 30-Aug-1615 Recherches de la France
Étienne-Denis Pasquier
Politician
21-Apr-1767 5-Jul-1862 Last Chancellor of France
Jean Passerat
Poet
18-Oct-1534 14-Sep-1602 Satyre ménippée
Frédéric Passy
Economist
20-May-1822 12-Jun-1912 International League for Permanent Peace
Pedro II
Royalty
2-Dec-1825 5-Dec-1891 Emperor of Brazil, 1831-89
Jean-Charles-Athanase Peltier
Physicist
22-Feb-1785 27-Oct-1845 Peltier Effect
François Périer
Actor
10-Nov-1919 29-Jun-2002 Nights of Cabiria
Charles Perrault
Author
12-Jan-1628 16-May-1703 Tales of Mother Goose
Dionysius Petavius
Religion
21-Aug-1583 11-Dec-1652 De Theologicis Dogmatibus
Peter Lombard
Religion
c. 1100 21-Aug-1160 Sententiarum Libri Quatuor
Armand Peugeot
Business
26-Mar-1849 2-Jan-1915 Built the first Peugeot automobiles
William Pfaff
Author
29-Dec-1928 30-Apr-2015 Barbarian Sentiments
Philippe V
Royalty
1293 3-Jan-1322 King of France 1316-22
Maurice Pialat
Film Director
21-Aug-1925 11-Jan-2003 À nos amours
Francis Picabia
Painter
22-Jan-1879 30-Nov-1953 Cubist, Dadaist
Philippe Pinel
Psychiatrist
20-Apr-1745 25-Oct-1826 Unchained the insane
Sacha Pitoëff
Actor
11-Mar-1920 21-Jul-1990 Last Year at Marienbad
Henri Poincaré
Mathematician
29-Apr-1854 17-Jul-1912 Poincaré Conjecture
Georges Pompidou
Head of State
5-Jul-1911 2-Apr-1974 President of France, 1969-74
Francis Poulenc
Composer
7-Jan-1899 30-Jan-1963 Les dialogues des Carmélites
Marcel Proust
Author
10-Jul-1871 18-Nov-1922 In Search of Lost Time
Pip Pyle
Drummer
4-Apr-1950 28-Aug-2006 Prominent Canterbury drummer
Raymond Queneau
Novelist
21-Feb-1903 25-Oct-1976 Zazie dans le métro
François Rabelais
Author
c. 1494 9-Apr-1553 Gargantua and Pantagruel
Jean Racine
Playwright
20-Dec-1639 21-Apr-1699 Phèdre
Raymond Radiguet
Novelist
18-Jun-1903 12-Dec-1923 Le Diable au Corps
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Composer
25-Sep-1683 12-Sep-1764 Hippolyte et Aricie
Petrus Ramus
Scholar
1515 26-Aug-1572 Scholarum mathematicarum
Maurice Ravel
Composer
7-Mar-1875 28-Dec-1937 Bolero
Man Ray
Photographer
27-Aug-1890 18-Nov-1976 Dadaist photographer
Odilon Redon
Artist
22-Apr-1840 6-Jul-1916 Symbolist charcoal artist
Serge Reggiani
Musician
2-May-1922 22-Jul-2004 French singer, actor, painter
Louis Renault
Engineer
15-Feb-1877 24-Oct-1944 Founder of Renault
Alain Resnais
Film Director
3-Jun-1922 1-Mar-2014 Hiroshima mon amour
Charles Richet
Scientist
26-Aug-1850 4-Dec-1935 Studied anaphylaxis and ectoplasm
Emmanuelle Riva
Actor
24-Feb-1927 27-Jan-2017 Amour
Jacques Rivette
Film Director
1-Mar-1928 29-Jan-2016 La Belle Noiseuse
Yves Robert
Film Director
21-Jun-1920 10-May-2002 My Father's Glory
Gilles Personne de Roberval
Mathematician
8-Aug-1602 27-Oct-1675 Geometry of curves
Robespierre
Head of State
6-May-1758 28-Jul-1794 Presided over the Reign of Terror
François de la Rochefoucauld
Author
15-Sep-1613 16-Mar-1680 Maxims
Auguste Rodin
Sculptor
12-Nov-1840 17-Nov-1917 Sculptor in bronze
Éric Rohmer
Film Director
4-Apr-1920 11-Jan-2010 Ma Nuit chez Maud
Jeanne-Marie Roland
Relative
17-Mar-1754 8-Nov-1793 French woman of intrigue
Maurice Ronet
Actor
13-Apr-1927 14-Mar-1983 Elevator to the Gallows
Edmond Rostand
Playwright
1-Apr-1868 2-Dec-1918 Cyrano de Bergerac
Georges Rouault
Painter
27-May-1871 13-Feb-1958 Expressionist painter of clowns, Christs
Henri Rousseau
Painter
21-May-1844 2-Sep-1910 French painter of the exotic
Théodore Rousseau
Painter
15-Apr-1812 22-Dec-1867 French landscape painter
Raúl Ruiz
Film Director
25-Jul-1941 19-Aug-2011 Three Crowns of the Sailor
Mário de Sá-Carneiro
Poet
19-May-1890 26-Apr-1916 Dispersão
Yves Saint Laurent
Fashion Designer
1-Aug-1936 1-Jun-2008 Christian Dior protege
Henri de Saint-Simon
Author
17-Oct-1760 19-May-1825 Nouveau Christianisme
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
Critic
23-Dec-1804 13-Oct-1869 Portraits contemporains
Victorien Sardou
Playwright
5-Sep-1831 8-Nov-1908 Les Pattes de Mouche
Severo Sarduy
Author
25-Feb-1937 8-Jun-1993 De donde son los Cantantes
Nathalie Sarraute
Novelist
18-Jul-1900 19-Oct-1999 Portrait of a Man Unknown
Jacques Sarrazin
Painter
1588 3-Dec-1660 Painted western dome of the Louvre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Philosopher
21-Jun-1905 15-Apr-1980 Nausea, No Exit
Erik Satie
Composer
17-May-1866 1-Jul-1925 Messe des Pauvres
Maria Schneider
Actor
27-Mar-1952 3-Feb-2011 Last Tango in Paris
Romy Schneider
Actor
23-Sep-1938 29-May-1982 La Passante du Sans-Souci
Jean Seberg
Actor
13-Nov-1938 8-Sep-1979 Saint Joan
Jorge Semprún
Novelist
10-Dec-1923 7-Jun-2011 Screenplay for Z
Georges Seurat
Painter
2-Dec-1859 29-Mar-1891 A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
Hugh Sidey
Journalist
3-Sep-1927 21-Nov-2005 Time magazine
Claude Simon
Novelist
10-Oct-1913 6-Jul-2005 Le Tricheur
Simone Simon
Actor
23-Apr-1910 22-Feb-2005 Cat People
Wallis Simpson
Royalty
19-Jun-1896 24-Apr-1986 Duchess of Windsor
Georges Sorel
Philosopher
2-Nov-1847 29-Aug-1922 Reflections on Violence
Chaim Soutine
Painter
1894 8-Aug-1944 Expressionist painter, Carcass of Beef
Madame de Staël
Author
22-Apr-1766 14-Jul-1817 Important French romanticist
Stendhal
Author
23-Jan-1793 23-Mar-1842 Le Rouge et le Noir
Joseph Strick
Film Director
6-Jul-1923 1-Jun-2010 Ulysses
Charles François Sturm
Mathematician
29-Sep-1803 18-Dec-1855 Sturm's Theorem
Sir John Suckling
Poet
1609 1642 Fragmenta Aurea
Paul Taffanel
Musician
16-Sep-1844 22-Nov-1908 Flautist, French Flute School
Germaine Tailleferre
Musician
19-Apr-1892 7-Nov-1983 Sole female of Les Six
Hippolyte Taine
Historian
21-Apr-1828 5-Mar-1893 Origines de la France Contemporaine
Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux
Author
2-Oct-1619 10-Nov-1692 Historiettes
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
Diplomat
2-Feb-1754 17-May-1838 Preeminent French diplomat
Jean-Lambert Tallien
Politician
23-Jan-1767 16-Nov-1820 French Revolutionary
Gabriel Tarde
Sociologist
12-Mar-1843 13-May-1904 Group mind, Theory of Imitation
Andrei Tarkovsky
Film Director
4-Apr-1932 28-Dec-1986 Solaris
Jacques Tati
Film Director
9-Oct-1907 4-Nov-1982 Mr. Hulot's Holiday
Laurent Terzieff
Actor
27-Jun-1935 2-Jul-2010 Tu Ne Tueras Point
Louis-Jacques Thénard
Chemist
4-May-1777 21-Jun-1857 Traité de Chimie élémentaire
Alice B. Toklas
Relative
30-Apr-1877 7-Mar-1967 Gertrude Stein's lover
Tristan Tzara
Poet
16-Apr-1896 24-Dec-1963 Founded the Dada movement
Roger Vadim
Film Director
26-Jan-1928 11-Feb-2000 Barbarella
Paul Valéry
Poet
30-Oct-1871 20-Jul-1945 La Jeune Parque
Louis Le Vau
Architect
1612 1670 Architect for Louis XIV
Sébastien de Vauban
Engineer
15-May-1633 30-Mar-1707 Mastermind of the siege
Jacques Vergès
Attorney
5-Mar-1925 15-Aug-2013 Attorney specializing in defense of monsters
Paul Verlaine
Poet
30-Mar-1844 8-Jan-1896 Leader of symbolist poetry movement
Howard Vernon
Actor
15-Jul-1914 25-Jul-1996 The Awful Dr. Orloff
Odile Versois
Actor
14-Jun-1930 23-Jun-1980 Le Crabe-Tambour
Boris Vian
Novelist
10-Mar-1920 23-Jun-1959 L'Écume des jours
Eugène François Vidocq
Government
23-Jul-1775 11-May-1857 Criminal-turned-criminologist
Alfred de Vigny
Poet
27-Mar-1797 17-Sep-1863 Chatterton
Jean Vigo
Film Director
26-Apr-1905 5-Oct-1934 L'Atalante
St. Vincent de Paul
Religion
24-Apr-1576 27-Sep-1660 Filles de la Charité
La Voisin
Paranormal
? 20-Feb-1680 French sorceress, affaire des poisons
Sir Richard Wallace
Aristocrat
26-Jul-1818 20-Jul-1890 The Wallace Collection
Lucy Walter
Relative
c. 1630 1658 Mistress of English king Charles II
Charles Wheatstone
Physicist
6-Feb-1802 19-Oct-1875 Inventor of the telegraph
Charles-Marie Widor
Composer
21-Feb-1844 12-Mar-1937 Toccata
Robert Wiene
Film Director
24-Apr-1873 17-Jul-1938 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Oscar Wilde
Playwright
16-Oct-1854 30-Nov-1900 The Picture of Dorian Gray
Daniel Wildenstein
Business
11-Sep-1917 23-Oct-2001 Wildenstein & Company
William of Auvergne
Religion
c. 1180 1249 Bishop of Paris, 1228-49
Richard Wright
Author
4-Sep-1908 28-Nov-1960 Native Son
Iannis Xenakis
Composer
9-May-1922 4-Feb-2001 Avant-garde composer
Hector Zazou
Composer
11-Jul-1948 8-Sep-2008 Electronic and World music composer
Émile Zola
Novelist
2-Apr-1840 29-Sep-1902 J'Accuse



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