David Durand (1680 – 16 January 1763) was a Huguenot

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and English

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

and historian. He was born in Languedoc and fled France to the Netherlands before heading to Spain with a group of refugees, being captured at the

Battle of Almanza The Battle of Almansa took place on 25 April 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was fought between an army loyal to Philip V of Spain, Bourbon claimant to the Spanish throne, and one supporting his Habsburg rival, Archduke Charle ...

in 1707 and being sent to France and then escaping to the Netherlands again. He was a minister in Rotterdam and became a friend of Pierre Bayle's there. He moved to England in 1711 and served as a pastor to the Church of England

French-speaking French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

churches in London. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1728. During his time in England, he wrote many works in French, most of them history. His continuation of

Paul de Rapin Paul de Rapin (25 March 1661 – 25 April 1725), sieur of Thoyras (and therefore styled de Rapin de Thoyras), was a Huguenot historian writing under English patronage. His ''History of England'', written and first published in French in 1724– ...

's ''History of England'' (1734) was the most successful of his works. Although it was written for a French audience, it was the most authoritative history of England for some years. He also wrote histories of the 16th century, of Classical painting, and a literary work where he attempted a French-language imitation of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

's ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

''. He never married, and died in 1763.

References

*Marzials, F. T. and Geoffrey Treasure. "David Durand" In Matthew, H.C.G. and Brian Harrison, eds. ''

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

.'' vol. 17, 381. London: OUP, 2004. 1680 births 1763 deaths 18th-century French historians 18th-century British historians 18th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of the Royal Society French male non-fiction writers Huguenots {{france-historian-stub