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Pierre Athanase Larousse (; 23 October 18173 January 1875) was a French
Pierre Larousse was born in Toucy, where his father was a
From 1848 to 1851, Larousse taught at a private boarding school, where he met his future wife, Suzanne Caubel (although they did not marry until 1872). Together, in 1849, they published a French language course for children. In 1851 he met Augustin Boyer, another disillusioned ex-teacher, and together they founded the ''Librairie Larousse et Boyer'' (Larousse and Boyer Bookshop). They published progressive textbooks for children, and instruction manuals for teachers, with an emphasis on developing the pupils' creativity and independence. In 1856 they published the ''New Dictionary of the French Language'', the forerunner of the '' Petit Larousse'', but Larousse was already starting to plan his next, much larger, project. On 27 December 1863 the first volume of the great encyclopedic dictionary, the (Great Universal 19th-Century Dictionary), appeared. It was praised by
Title pageFirst entrySupplémentTable alphabétique des noms des compositeurs cités dans ce livreDeuxième Supplément, 1869–1872Table alphabétique des noms des compositeurs cités dans ce deuxième supplément
. * 1881: ''Dictionnaire lyrique ou Histoire des Opéras'' by Félix Clément & Pierre Larousse. Online at Internet Archive
Title pageFirst entrySupplémentTable alphabétique des noms des compositeurs cités dans ce livreDeuxième supplément, 1869–1872Table alphabétique des noms des compositeurs cités dans ce deuxième supplémentTroisième supplément, 1873–1876Table alphabétique des noms des compositeurs cités dans ce troisième supplémentQuatrième supplément, 1877–1880 Table alphabétique des noms des compositeurs cités dans ce quatrième supplément
. * 1905: ''Dictionnaire des Opéras (Dictionnaire lyrique)'' by Félix Clément & Pierre Larousse, as revised by Arthur Pougin. Online at Internet Archive
Title pageFirst entrySupplément, 1904
copy 2
* ''Grand dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle français, historique, géographique, mythologique, bibliographique.... ''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larousse, Pierre 1817 births 1875 deaths 19th-century French lexicographers French encyclopedists French editors Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery People from Yonne Grammarians from France Conservatoire national des arts et métiers alumni
grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...
ian, lexicographer and encyclopaedist. He published many of the outstanding educational and reference works of 19th-century France, including the 15-volume .
Early life
Pierre Larousse was born in Toucy, where his father was a blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
. At the age of sixteen he won a scholarship at the teaching school in Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of ÃŽle-de-France, ÃŽle-de-France region in Franc ...
. Four years later, he returned to Toucy to teach in a primary school, but became frustrated by the archaic and rigid teaching methods. In 1840 he moved to Paris to improve his own education by taking free courses.
Career
From 1848 to 1851, Larousse taught at a private boarding school, where he met his future wife, Suzanne Caubel (although they did not marry until 1872). Together, in 1849, they published a French language course for children. In 1851 he met Augustin Boyer, another disillusioned ex-teacher, and together they founded the ''Librairie Larousse et Boyer'' (Larousse and Boyer Bookshop). They published progressive textbooks for children, and instruction manuals for teachers, with an emphasis on developing the pupils' creativity and independence. In 1856 they published the ''New Dictionary of the French Language'', the forerunner of the '' Petit Larousse'', but Larousse was already starting to plan his next, much larger, project. On 27 December 1863 the first volume of the great encyclopedic dictionary, the (Great Universal 19th-Century Dictionary), appeared. It was praised by Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.
His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
and became a classic. It is still highly respected in its modern revised form. In 1869 Larousse ended his partnership with Boyer and spent the rest of his life working on the ''Great Dictionary''. The dictionary was finished (15 volumes, 1866–76; supplements 1878 and 1890), by Larousse's nephew Jules Hollier in 1876, after Larousse's death (in Paris in 1875) from a stroke caused by exhaustion.
Publishing legacy
The publishing house Éditions Larousse still survives, but was acquired by Compagnie Européenne de Publication in 1984,Havas
Havas NV () is a French multinational corporation, multinational advertising agency, advertising and public relations company, with its registered office and head office in Puteaux, France.
Havas operates in more than 100 countries. The group ...
in 1997, Vivendi Universal in 1998, and the Lagardère Group in 2002. English-language variants of Éditions Larousse encyclopaedias were published for many decades by Hamlyn (publishers) and Prometheus Books.
See also
* Bilingual dictionaryReferences
External links
* 1872: ''Dictionnaire lyrique ou Histoire des Opéras'' by Félix Clément & Pierre Larousse. Online atInternet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
Title page
. * 1881: ''Dictionnaire lyrique ou Histoire des Opéras'' by Félix Clément & Pierre Larousse. Online at Internet Archive
Title page
. * 1905: ''Dictionnaire des Opéras (Dictionnaire lyrique)'' by Félix Clément & Pierre Larousse, as revised by Arthur Pougin. Online at Internet Archive
Title page
copy 2
* ''Grand dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle français, historique, géographique, mythologique, bibliographique.... ''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larousse, Pierre 1817 births 1875 deaths 19th-century French lexicographers French encyclopedists French editors Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery People from Yonne Grammarians from France Conservatoire national des arts et métiers alumni