Gilbert Chinard (1881–1972) was a French-American historian, professor emeritus, who authored over 40 books. Born on October 17, 1881 in Chatellerault, France, to Hilaire and Marie (Blanchard) Chinard, educated at the Universities of Poitiers
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Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

, in 1908, he married Emma Blanchard, then moved to New York as a visiting instructor in French Literature, leading him in an American academic career, teaching positions at Brown University (1908-12), the University of California, Berkeley (1912-1919), Johns Hopkins University (1919-36), and Princeton University (1937-1950). Chinard was awarded Guggenheim Fellowship for French Literature. He was promoted from Chevalier to Officier of the Légion d’Honneur in 1934. Among the many books he authored, were, notably: “Thomas Jefferson, the Apostle of Americanism” (1929), “Hon, est John Adams” (1933) and “L'Apothdose de Benjamin Franklin”, published in Paris in 1955. Famed as a ''

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

scholar''. He is noted as being sympathetic to Jefferson. During

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Chinard was active in

Free France Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

. In May 1941, Chinard was "one of the seven most influential French men in America" who wrote President Roosevelt, to "congratulate him on his strong warning to the

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

government." In 1942, he presided over a

France Forever France Forever (french: France Quand Même) was an organization founded on June 29, 1940 as an association of French men and women living in the United States, as well as American friends of France, acting to preserve comradeship between these cou ...

meeting. And in 1946, joined its ceremonial activities with

Albert Simard Albert Charles Joseph Simard ''Albert C. J. Simard(ca. 1891 — May 2, 1973New York State Journal of Medicine. (1973). United States: Medical Society of the State of New York. p. 2918 American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

, an honorary member of the

American Association of Teachers of French The American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) is a professional organisation for teachers of French in the United States founded in 1927. Teachers may be involved in primary, secondary, or university education. Additionally, retired and stu ...

. and president of the Modern Language Association (in 1956). Chinard died on February 8, 1972, in Princeton, at the age of 90. The ''Gilbert Chinard Prize'' is awarded each year by the Society for French Historical Studies - for a book published the preceding year by a North American press in one of the two following fields: the history of French-American relations; or the comparative history of France and North, Central, or South America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinard, Gilbert. 1881 births 1972 deaths Recipients of the Legion of Honour French emigrants to the United States Presidents of the Modern Language Association Brown University faculty University of California, Berkeley faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty Princeton University faculty University of Poitiers alumni University of Bordeaux alumni

See also

References