Famous French Intellectuals & Academics

List of famous French intellectuals & academics with their biographies that include trivia, interesting facts, timeline and life history.

Famous People From France
PhilosophersEconomistsHistoriansSociologists
Albert Einstein truly stated ‘Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death’. Though many in the world aspire to become intellectual, only a handful of the lot have the courage to voice against the opposition and the capability to pay the price that the aspiration comes with. France has been one of the blessed nations in the world when it comes to counting intellectuals and academicians. The country has been a powerhouse of people who used their intelligence and thinking to play an influential role in the development of the world. Who can forget the contribution of Blaise Pascal and his theory of probabilities in mathematics or the 20th century intellectual, Jean Paul Sartre and his idea of existentialism or even Auguste Comte who advanced social science to form a new genre called sociology? Not just men, French women too played an imperative role as academicians. To name a few we have, Simone de Beauvoir, Danica Seleskovitch and Isabell Maxwell. These people changed the society through their critical thinking, analysis, reasoning and research. What’s more, they made their presence felt in all the fields, be it literature, science, medicine, philosophy, religion and the like. Read this section to find out the life and works of some French intellectuals and academicians.
VoltaireVoltaire

21 November 1694

30 May 1778

Paris

Scorpio

René DéscartesRené Déscartes

31 March 1596

11 February 1650

La Haye en Touraine, Touraine, France

Aries

Jean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques Rousseau

28 June 1712

02 July 1778

Geneva

Cancer

Michel FoucaultMichel Foucault

15 October 1926

25 June 1984

Poitiers

Libra

Albert CamusAlbert Camus

07 November 1913

04 January 1960

Dréan

Scorpio

Jean-Paul SartreJean-Paul Sartre

21 June 1905

15 April 1980

Paris

Gemini

Blaise PascalBlaise Pascal

19 June 1623

19 August 1662

Clermont-Ferrand,, Auvergne, France

Gemini

Emile DurkheimEmile Durkheim

15 April 1858

15 November 1917

Épinal

Aries

Baron de MontesquieuMontesquieu

18 January 1689

10 February 1755

Château de la Brède, La Brède, Aquitaine, France

Capricorn

Simone de BeauvoirSimone de Beauvoir

09 January 1908

14 April 1986

Paris

Capricorn

Jacques DerridaJacques Derrida

15 July 1930

09 October 2004

El Biar, French Algeria

Cancer

Auguste ComteAuguste Comte

19 January 1798

05 September 1857

Montpellier, France

Capricorn

Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville

29 July 1805

16 April 1859

Paris, France

Leo

Roland BarthesRoland Barthes

12 November 1915

25 March 1980

Cherbourg-Octeville

Scorpio

Michel de MontaigneMichel de Montaigne

28 February 1533

13 September 1592

Château de Montaigne

Pisces

Albert SchweitzerAlbert Schweitzer

14 January 1875

04 September 1965

Kaysersberg

Capricorn

Henri BergsonHenri Bergson

18 October 1859

04 January 1941

Paris

Libra

Pierre Teilhard de ChardinPierre Teilhard de Chardin

01 May 1881

10 April 1955

Orcines

Taurus

Simone WeilSimone Weil

03 February 1909

24 August 1943

Paris

Aquarius

Marquis de CondorcetMarquis de Condorcet

17 September 1743

28 March 1794

Ribemont, France

Virgo

Jean-François ChampollionJean-François Champollion

23 December 1790

04 March 1832

Figeac

Capricorn

Gerard DebreuGerard Debreu

04 July 1921

31 December 2004

Calais

Cancer

Élisée ReclusElisee Reclus

15 March 1830

04 July 1905

Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, France

Pisces

Maurice AllaisMaurice Allais

31 May 1911

09 October 2010

Paris, France

Gemini

Frederic PassyFrédéric Passy

20 May 1822

12 June 1912

Paris

Taurus

Jean GottmannJean Gottmann

23 October 1915

28 February 1994

Kharkov, Ukraine, Russian Empire

Libra

Jean Le Rond d’AlembertJean Le Rond d’Alembert

16 November 1717

29 October 1783

Paris

Scorpio

Hugh of Saint-CherHugh of Saint-Cher

1200 AD

19 March 1263

Vienne, Isère

Olympe de GougesOlympe de Gouges

07 May 1748

03 November 1793

Montauban

Taurus

Arsène WengerArsène Wenger

22 October 1949

Strasbourg

Libra

Pierre BourdieuPierre Bourdieu

01 August 1930

23 January 2002

Denguin

Leo

Christine LagardeChristine Lagarde

01 January 1956

Paris

Capricorn

Jacques LacanJacques Lacan

13 April 1901

09 September 1981

Paris

Aries

Jean BaudrillardJean Baudrillard

27 July 1929

06 March 2007

Reims, France

Leo

Gilles DeleuzeGilles Deleuze

18 January 1925

04 November 1995

Paris

Capricorn

René GirardRené Girard

25 December 1923

04 November 2015

Avignon

Capricorn

Thomas PikettyThomas Piketty

07 May 1971

Clichy

Taurus

Jean-Baptiste LamarckJean-Baptiste Lamarck

01 August 1744

18 December 1829

Bazentin

Leo

Henri FayolHenri Fayol

29 July 1841

19 November 1925

Istanbul

Leo

Benoit MandelbrotBenoit Mandelbrot

20 November 1924

14 October 2010

Warsaw

Scorpio

Louis AlthusserLouis Althusser

16 October 1918

22 October 1990

Algeria

Libra

Dominique Strauss-KahnDominique Strauss-Kahn

25 April 1949

Neuilly-sur-Seine

Taurus

Vilfredo ParetoVilfredo Pareto

15 July 1848

19 August 1923

Paris

Cancer

Pierre-Joseph ProudhonPierre-Joseph Proudhon

15 January 1809

19 January 1865

Besançon

Capricorn

Jacques EllulJacques Ellul

06 January 1912

19 May 1994

Bordeaux

Capricorn

Jean-Baptiste ColbertJean-Baptiste Colbert

29 August 1619

06 September 1683

Reims

Virgo

Georges CuvierGeorges Cuvier

23 August 1769

13 May 1832

Montbéliard

Leo

Guy DebordGuy Debord

28 December 1931

30 November 1994

Paris

Capricorn

Maurice Merleau-PontyMaurice Merleau-Ponty

14 March 1908

03 May 1961

Rochefort

Pisces

Alain BadiouAlain Badiou

17 January 1937

Rabat

Capricorn

Charles FourierCharles Fourier

07 April 1772

10 October 1837

Besançon

Aries

Julia KristevaJulia Kristeva

24 June 1941

Sliven

Cancer

Georges BatailleGeorges Bataille

10 September 1897

09 July 1962

Billom

Virgo

Alfred BinetAlfred Binet

08 July 1857

18 October 1911

Nice

Cancer

Henri LefebvreHenri Lefebvre

16 June 1901

29 June 1991

Hagetmau

Gemini

Bruno LatourBruno Latour

22 June 1947

Beaune

Cancer

Émilie du ChâteletÉmilie du Châtelet

André GlucksmannAndré Glucksmann

19 June 1937

10 November 2015

Boulogne-Billancourt

Gemini

Luce IrigarayLuce Irigaray

03 May 1930

Bernissart

Taurus

Jean-François LyotardJean-François Lyotard

10 August 1924

21 April 1998

Versailles

Leo

Emil CioranEmil Cioran

08 April 1911

20 June 1995

Rășinari

Aries

Fernand BraudelFernand Braudel

24 August 1902

28 November 1985

Luméville-en-Ornois

Virgo

Emmanuel LevinasEmmanuel Levinas

12 January 1906

25 December 1995

Kaunas

Capricorn

Eliphas LeviEliphas Levi

08 February 1810

31 May 1875

Paris

Aquarius

Francis de SalesFrancis de Sales

16 August 1567

28 December 1622

Château de Thorens

Leo

François-René de ChateaubriandFrançois-René de Chateaubriand

04 September 1768

04 July 1848

Saint-Malo

Virgo

Frederic BastiatFrederic Bastiat

30 June 1801

24 December 1850

Bayonne

Cancer

Allan KardecAllan Kardec

03 October 1804

31 March 1869

Lyon

Libra

Marcel MaussMarcel Mauss

10 May 1872

10 February 1950

Épinal

Taurus

Gustave Le BonGustave Le Bon

07 May 1841

13 December 1931

Nogent-le-Rotrou

Taurus

Paul BrocaPaul Broca

28 June 1824

09 July 1880

Sainte-Foy-la-Grande

Cancer

Ernest RenanErnest Renan

27 February 1823

02 October 1892

Tréguier

Pisces

Jean TiroleJean Tirole

09 August 1953

Troyes

Leo

Henri de CastriesHenri de Castries

15 August 1954

Bayonne

Leo

Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de MirabeauHonoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau

09 March 1749

02 April 1791

Le Bignon-Mirabeau

Pisces

Jean BodinJean Bodin

1529 AD

1596 AD

Angers

Arthur de GobineauArthur de Gobineau

14 July 1816

13 October 1882

Ville-d'Avray

Cancer

Cornelius CastoriadisCornelius Castoriadis

11 March 1922

26 December 1997

Istanbul

Pisces

Michel OnfrayMichel Onfray

01 January 1959

Argentan

Capricorn

Jacques MaritainJacques Maritain

18 November 1882

28 April 1973

Paris

Scorpio

Géry LeulietGéry Leuliet

12 January 1910

01 January 2015

France

Capricorn

Albert MalboisAlbert Malbois

17 November 1915

12 February 2017

Versailles

Scorpio

Michel de CerteauMichel de Certeau

17 May 1925

10 January 1986

Chambéry

Taurus

France NuyenFrance Nuyen

31 July 1939

Marseille

Leo

Adolphe ThiersAdolphe Thiers

15 April 1797

03 September 1877

Marseille

Aries

Romain RollandRomain Rolland

29 January 1866

30 December 1944

Clamecy

Aquarius

Jacques-Bénigne BossuetJacques-Bénigne Bossuet

27 September 1627

12 April 1704

Dijon

Libra

Eugène Viollet-le-DucEugène Viollet-le-Duc

27 January 1814

17 September 1879

Paris

Aquarius

Nicolas MalebrancheNicolas Malebranche

06 August 1638

13 October 1715

Paris

Leo

Jean-Baptiste SayJean-Baptiste Say

05 January 1767

15 November 1832

Lyon

Capricorn

George SteinerGeorge Steiner

23 April 1929

Paris

Taurus

Luc MontagnierLuc Montagnier

18 August 1932

Chabris

Leo

Gaston BachelardGaston Bachelard

27 June 1884

16 October 1962

Bar-sur-Aube

Cancer

Tzvetan TodorovTzvetan Todorov

01 March 1939

07 February 2017

Sofia

Pisces

Charles-Valentin AlkanCharles-Valentin Alkan

30 November 1813

29 March 1888

Paris

Sagittarius

Maurice BlanchotMaurice Blanchot

22 September 1907

20 February 2003

France

Virgo

Gabriel MarcelGabriel Marcel

07 December 1889

08 October 1973

Paris

Sagittarius

Félix GuattariFélix Guattari

30 April 1930

29 August 1992

Villeneuve-les-Sablons

Taurus

Paul VirilioPaul Virilio

04 January 1932

Paris

Capricorn

Born Today

Film & Theater Personalities

Ryan Reynolds

Canada

Fashion

Ireland Baldwin

United States

Film & Theater Personalities

Seo In-guk

South Korea

Film & Theater Personalities

Michael Crichton

United States

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