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

1640 - Claude Fleury (French historian)

1721 - Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes (French statesman)

1778 - Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac (French physicist and chemist)

1805 - Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (French magician)

1841 - Frédéric Bazille (French painter)

1908 - Pierre Graber (Swiss Federal Councilor)

1919 - Paul de Man (Belgian-born literary critic)

1929 - Alain Tanner (Swiss filmmaker)

1935 - Samuel Eno Belinga (Cameroonian writer)

1950 - Guy Drut (French Olympic champion)

1971 - Nicole Coste (Togo-born ex-girlfriend of Albert II, Prince of Monaco)


Deaths

1618 - Jacques-Davy Duperron (French cardinal)

1779 - Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (French painter)

1867 - Jean Pierre Flourens (French physician)

2004 - Raymond Goethals (Belgian soccer coach)

2005 - Charly Gaul (Luxembourg cyclist)


Holidays/Celebrations

Saint Nicholas Day - Christmas in France

Lyon: Fête des Lumières


Milestones/Events

1492 - Columbus discovered Haiti

1989 - Montreal, Québec: École Polytechnique Massacre


Errors and Omissions

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