Today in Francophone History

Learn about important dates in French and francophone history: famous birthdays, holidays and celebrations, and other milestones. If the above does not match today's date or you wish to choose a specific date, please click here.

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Birthdays

1081 - Louis VI of France

1580 - Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (French astronomer)

1716 - Etienne-Maurice Falconet (French sculptor)

1923 - Maurice de Bevère, aka Morris (Belgian cartoonist)

1944 - Tahar Ben Jelloun (Moroccan poet and writer)

1947 - Alain Bashung (French singer and actor)


Deaths

1660 - Pierre d'Hozier (French historian)

1729 - Giacomo F. Maraldi (French-Italian astronomer)

1923 - Virginie Loveling (Belgian writer and poet)

1997 - Stéphane Grappelli (French jazz violinist)


Holidays/Celebrations

Central African Republic - Independence Day / Proclamation of the Republic


Milestones/Events

1958 - Central African Republic became independent from France

1986 - François Mitterrand inaugurated the Musée d'Orsay (it opened to the public on 9 December)

1990 - Meeting of the Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France


Errors and Omissions

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