Étienne Arago - photographie Pierre-Louis Pierson

Étienne Vincent Arago (9 February 1802 – 7 March 1892) was a French writer and politician, and co-founder (with

Maurice Alhoy Philadelphe-Maurice Alhoy (1802 – 27 April 1856) was a 19th-century French journalist, writer and playwright, born and died in Paris. As journalist Under the Restauration and the July Monarchy, when "every day saw the birth of a new paper" (E ...

) of the newspaper ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

''.

Early life

Arago was born in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

, the youngest of the four Arago brothers. His parents were François Bonaventure Arago (1754–1814) and

Marie Arago Marie Arago, born Marie-Anne Roig (3 November 1755 – 5 September 1845) was a French woman, wife of François Bonaventure Arago and mother of François, Jean, Jacques, Victor, Joseph and Étienne Arago. She raised her eight children alone after th ...

(1755–1845). He entered the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

but left due to involvement with the

Carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...

Career

He pursued literary interests and was an acquaintance of

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

(they co-wrote an unsuccessful novel). In 1829, he became director of the

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles. Af ...

; it closed in 1838, leaving him with considerable debts. In February 1848, during the Revolution of that year, he became director of the national post office. He was active in political movements and opposed

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, and was in exile in Belgium from 1849 to 1859. He briefly served as mayor of Paris, for two months in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War. Later, he was involved in a diplomatic mission to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Family

Arago's brothers included

François François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

(astronomer, physicist, politician); Jean, who emigrated to North America and became a general in the Mexican army; and Jacques Étienne Victor, who took part in

Louis de Freycinet Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet (7 August 1779 – 18 August 1841) was a French Navy officer. He circumnavigated the earth, and in 1811 published the first map to show a full outline of the coastline of Australia. Biography He was born at ...

's exploring voyage in the ship ''Uranie'' from 1817 to 1821, and on his return to France devoted himself to his journalism and the drama.

References

External links

* * * Muriel Toulotte, ''Etienne Arago, 1802–1892: une vie, un siècle'' (Publications de l'Olivier, 1993) {{DEFAULTSORT:Arago, Etienne 1802 births 1892 deaths People from Perpignan Politicians from Occitania (administrative region) The Mountain (1849) politicians Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly Members of the National Assembly (1871) Mayors of Paris French newspaper founders 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights Writers from Occitania (administrative region) 19th-century French journalists French male journalists 19th-century French businesspeople 19th-century French male writers Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery Le Figaro people