Events from the year 1875 in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon, duc de Magenta (; 13 June 1808 – 17 October 1893) was a French general and politician, with the distinction of Marshal of France. He served as Chief of State of France from 1873 to 1 ...

President of the Council of Ministers The President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes titled Chairman of the Council of Ministers) is the most senior member of the cabinet in the executive branch of government in some countries. Some Presidents of the Council of Ministers are th ...

Ernest Courtot de Cissey Ernest Louis Octave Courtot de Cissey (; 1810–1882) was a French general and Prime Minister. de Cissey was born in Paris, educated at the Prytanée National Militaire and, after passing through St Cyr, entered the army in 1832, becoming capt ...

(until 10 March),

Louis Buffet Louis Joseph Buffet (; 26 October 1818 – 7 July 1898) was a French statesman. He was born at Mirecourt, Vosges. After the revolution of February 1848 he was elected deputy for the department of the Vosges, and in the Assembly sat on the right ...

(starting 10 March)

Events

*20 May –

Convention du Mètre The Metre Convention (french: link=no, Convention du Mètre), also known as the Treaty of the Metre, is an international treaty that was signed in Paris on 20 May 1875 by representatives of 17 nations (Argentina, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Brazi ...

signed in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. *

Cize–Bolozon viaduct The Cize–Bolozon viaduct is a road-rail bridge, combination rail and vehicular viaduct crossing the Ain (river), Ain gorge in France connecting the communes of Cize, Ain, Cize and Bolozon in the Ain ''département''. An original span built in ...

opens to rail traffic across the

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

. *

Gallium Gallium is a chemical element with the symbol Ga and atomic number 31. Discovered by French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1875, Gallium is in group 13 of the periodic table and is similar to the other metals of the group (aluminiu ...

is discovered by Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran.

Arts and literature

*5 January – The

Palais Garnier The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...

, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, is inaugurated as the home of the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

. *3 March – The first performance of

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' at the

Opéra Comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

, Paris, 3 months before the composer's death. *The

Flammarion publishing Groupe Flammarion () is a French publishing group, comprising many units, including its namesake, founded in 1876 by Ernest Flammarion, as well as units in distribution, sales, printing and bookshops (La Hune and Flammarion Center). Flammarion b ...

firm is founded in Paris.

Births

*17 February –

Fanny Clar Clara Fanny Olivier (February 17, 1875, 4th arrondissement of Paris – February 24, 1944), known by her pen name Fanny Clar, was a French journalist and writer, as well as a socialist intellectual (as defined by the French Section of the Workers' ...

, journalist and writer (died

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

) *21 February –

Jeanne Calment Jeanne Louise Calment (; 21 February 1875 – 4 August 1997) was a French supercentenarian and the oldest human whose age is documented, with a lifespan of 122 years and 164 days. Her longevity attracted media attention and medical studies ...

, supercentenarian and the oldest living person ever documented in history (died

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

) *7 March –

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, composer and pianist (died

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

) *27 March –

Cécile Vogt-Mugnier Cécile Vogt-Mugnier (27 March 1875 – 4 May 1962) was a French neurologist from Haute-Savoie. She and her husband Oskar Vogt are known for their extensive cytology, cytoarchetectonic studies on the brain. Professional life Education and caree ...

, neurologist (died

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

) *4 April –

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

, conductor (died

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

) *5 April –

Mistinguett Mistinguett (, born Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois; 5 April 1873 – 5 January 1956) was a French actress and singer. She was at one time the highest-paid female entertainer in the world. Early life The daughter of Antoine Bourgeois, a 31-year- ...

, singer (born

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

) *27 April – Maurice, 6th duc de Broglie, physicist (died

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

) *28 June –

Henri Lebesgue Henri Léon Lebesgue (; June 28, 1875 – July 26, 1941) was a French mathematician known for his theory of integration, which was a generalization of the 17th-century concept of integration—summing the area between an axis and the curve of ...

, mathematician (died

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

) *31 July –

Jacques Villon Jacques Villon (July 31, 1875 – June 9, 1963), also known as Gaston Duchamp, was a French Cubist and abstract painter and printmaker. Early life Born Émile Méry Frédéric Gaston Duchamp in Damville, Eure, in Normandy, France, he came ...

, painter and printmaker (died

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

) *6 August – Marcel Labey, conductor and composer (died

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

) *27 September –

Cléo de Mérode Cléopâtre-Diane de Mérode (27 September 1875 – 17 October 1966) was a French dancer of the Belle Époque. She has been referred to as the "first real celebrity icon" and the "first modern celebrity". She was also the first woman whose photog ...

, dancer (died

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

)

Full date unknown

Maurice Princet Maurice Princet (1875 – October 23, 1973) was a French mathematician and actuary who played a role in the birth of cubism. He was an associate of Pablo Picasso, Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Jacob, Jean Metzinger, and Marcel Duchamp. He is known as ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

and

actuary An actuary is a business professional who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. The name of the corresponding field is actuarial science. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require asset man ...

(died

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

)

Deaths

January to June

*1 January –

Jacques Crétineau-Joly Jacques Crétineau-Joly (23 September 1803 – 1 January 1875) was a French Catholic journalist and historian. Biography He was born at Fontenay-le-Comte, Vendée. At first he studied theology at the seminary of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, but, fee ...

, journalist and historian (born

1803 Events * January 1 – The first edition of Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière's ''Almanach des gourmands'', the first guide to restaurant cooking, is published in Paris. * January 5 – William Symington demonstrates his ...

) *3 January –

Pierre Larousse Pierre Athanase Larousse (23 October 18173 January 1875) was a French grammarian, lexicographer and encyclopaedist. He published many of the outstanding educational and reference works of 19th-century France, including the 15-volume ''Grand dict ...

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

ian and

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

(born

1817 Events January–March * January 1 – Sailing through the Sandwich Islands, Otto von Kotzebue discovers New Year Island. * January 19 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, starts crossing the ...

) *10 January –

Anton Melbye Daniel Herman Anton Melbye (13 February 1818, Copenhagen – 10 January 1875, Paris) was a Danish painter and photographer who specialized in maritime scenes. He was the brother of painters Vilhelm and Fritz Melbye. Biography His father was a ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

painter (born

1818 Events January–March * January 1 ** Battle of Koregaon: Troops of the British East India Company score a decisive victory over the Maratha Empire. ** Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' is published anonymously in London. * January 2 – ...

) *20 January –

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realism ...

, painter (born

1814 Events January * January 1 – War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine. * January 3 ** War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Cattaro: French garrison s ...

) *22 February –

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast ...

, painter (born

1796 Events January–March * January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.) * February 1 – The capital ...

) *1 March –

Tristan Corbière Tristan Corbière (18 July 1845 – 1 March 1875), born Édouard-Joachim Corbière, was a French poet born in Coat-Congar, Ploujean (now part of Morlaix) in Brittany, where he lived most of his life before dying of tuberculosis at the age of 29 ...

, poet (born

1845 Events January–March * January 10 – Elizabeth Barrett receives a love letter from the younger poet Robert Browning; on May 20, they meet for the first time in London. She begins writing her ''Sonnets from the Portuguese''. * January 23 ...

) *25 March –

Louis Amédée Achard Louis Amédée Eugène Achard (19 April 1814 – 25 March 1875) was a prolific French novelist. Achard was born in Marseille. After a short stay near Algiers, where he supervised a farm, he went to Toulouse, and then Marseille, where he bec ...

, novelist (born

) *4 May –

Michel Lévy Michel Lévy (1821–1875) was the founder of the Michel Lévy Frères publishing house. Biography Born in Phalsbourg, he was the son of a '' colporteur'' (a peddler of printed publications). In 1836, aged fifteen, he opened a reading cab ...

, publisher (born

1821 Events January–March * January 21 – Peter I Island in the Antarctic is first sighted, by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. * January 28 – Alexander Island, the largest in Antarctica, is first discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von Be ...

) *5 May –

Alexandre Boreau Alexandre Boreau (March 15, 1803 – May 5, 1875) was a French pharmacist and botanist. He is the binomial authority of plants such as '' Polygonum arenastrum'' and '' Pulmonaria longifolia''. Biography Boreau was born in Saumur, in the depart ...

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

and

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

(born

) *10 May –

Gustave Thuret Gustave Adolphe Thuret (23 May 1817 – 10 May 1875) was a noted French botanist, and founder of the Jardin botanique de la Villa Thuret. Biography Born in Paris, he belonged to an old Huguenot family, which had sought refuge in Weesp (Dutch ...

(born

) *31 May –

Eliphas Levi Eliphaz is one of Esau's sons in the Bible. Eliphaz or Eliphas is also the given name of: * Eliphaz (Job), another person in the Bible * Eliphaz Dow (1705-1755), the first male executed in New Hampshire, for murder * Eliphaz Fay (1797–1854), f ...

, occult author and magician (born

1810 Events January–March * January 1 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales. * January 4 – Australian seal hunter Frederick Hasselborough discovers Campbell Island, in the Subantarctic. * Janua ...

) *3 June –

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

, composer and pianist (born

1838 Events January–March * January 10 – A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London. * January 11 – At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration o ...

) *24 June –

Henri Labrouste Pierre-François-Henri Labrouste () (11 May 1801 – 24 June 1875) was a French architect from the famous École des Beaux-Arts school of architecture. After a six-year stay in Rome, Labrouste established an architectural training worksh ...

, architect (born

1801 Events January–March * January 1 ** The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland is completed under the Act of Union 1800, bringing about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the abolition of the Parliament of I ...

) *25 June –

Antoine-Louis Barye Antoine-Louis Barye (24 September 179525 June 1875) was a Romantic French sculptor most famous for his work as an ''animalier'', a sculptor of animals. His son and student was the known sculptor Alfred Barye. Biography Born in Paris, France, B ...

, sculptor (born

)

July to December

*11 August –

Charles Rohault de Fleury Charles Rohault de Fleury (or Rohaut de Fleury; 22 September 1801 – 11 August 1875) was a French architect who designed many buildings in Paris, France, in the 19th century. In his later life he wrote a number of books on archaeological and rel ...

, architect (born

) *25 August –

Charles Auguste Frossard Charles Auguste Frossard (26 April 1807 – 25 August 1875) was a French general. He entered the army from the École polytechnique in 1827, being posted to the engineers. He took part in the siege of Rome in 1849 and in that of Sevastopol in 185 ...

, general (born

1807 Events January–March * January 7 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland issues an Order in Council prohibiting British ships from trading with France or its allies. * January 20 – The Sierra Leone Company, faced with b ...

) *12 October –

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (11 May 1827 – 12 October 1875) was a French sculptor and painter during the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Life Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpeaux en ...

, sculptor and painter (born

1827 Events January–March * January 5 – The first regatta in Australia is held, taking place on Tasmania (called at the time ''Van Diemen's Land''), on the River Derwent at Hobart. * January 15 – Furman University, founded in 1826, b ...

) *24 October –

Jacques Paul Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...

, priest, theologian and publisher (born

1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...

) *17 November –

Jacques-Marie-Achille Ginoulhiac Jacques-Marie-Achille Ginoulhiac (born at Montpellier, department of Hérault, 3 December 1806; died there 17 November 1875) was a French bishop. Biography Immediately after his ordination to the priesthood (1830) he was appointed professor in t ...

, Bishop (born

1806 Events January–March * January 1 ** The French Republican Calendar is abolished. ** The Kingdom of Bavaria is established by Napoleon. * January 5 – The body of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, lies in state in the Painted Hall ...

)

Full date unknown

* Charles Auguste Désiré Filon,

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

(born

)

References

{{Year in Europe, 1875 1870s in France