Étienne Vincent Arago (9 February 1802 – 7 March 1892) was a French writer and politician, and co-founder (with Maurice Alhoy) of the newspaper ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

''.

Early life

Arago was born in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

, the youngest of the four Arago brothers. His parents were François Bonaventure Arago (1754–1814) and Marie Arago (1755–1845). He entered the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

but left due to involvement with the

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

Career

He pursued literary interests and was an acquaintance of

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

(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, Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis, Piis and Yves Barré, Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets s ...

; 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 President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, 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 The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. Later, he was involved in a diplomatic mission to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Family

Arago's brothers included

François François () is a French language, French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis (given name), Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * Voltaire, Fran ...

(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 M ...

'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 The Mountain (1849) politicians French republicans Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly Members of the National Assembly (1871) Members of Parliament for Pyrénées-Orientales Mayors of Paris 19th-century mayors of places in France 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 Le Figaro people Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery