Jean-Pierre Babelon (17 November 1931 – 2 February 2024) was a French historian.

Biography

Born in the

6th arrondissement of Paris The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...

, Babelon was the son of historian Jean Babelon and the grandson of historian

Ernest Babelon Ernest Charles François Babelon (born 7 November 1854 in Sarrey, Département Haute-Marne; died 3 January 1924 in Paris) was a French numismatist and classical archaeologist. Education and career Ernest Babelon trained from 1874 to 1878 to b ...

. He graduated from the

École Nationale des Chartes The École Nationale des Chartes (; ) is a French ''grande école'' and a constituent college of Université PSL, specialising in the auxiliary sciences of history, historical sciences. It was founded in 1821, and was located initially at the A ...

in 1950 with a thesis titled ''La demeure parisienne sous Henri IV et Louis XIII''. He then became an assistant archivist for the and subsequently studied at the

École du Louvre The École du Louvre () is a selective institution of higher education and prestigious ''grande école'' located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology ...

. The majority of his career was spent at the Archives Nationales as a curator for the Musée des Archives Nationales. In addition to his research, he was a senior lecturer at the

École pratique des hautes études The (), abbreviated EPHE, is a French postgraduate top level educational institution, a . EPHE is a constituent college of the Université PSL (together with ENS Ulm, Paris Dauphine or Ecole des Mines). The college is closely linked to É ...

with a particular focus on the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

. From 1989 to 1996, he curated the

Palace of 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 Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

museum. He joined the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...

in 1992 and served as its president in 2001, succeeding

Philippe Contamine Philippe Contamine (7 May 1932 – 26 January 2022) was a French historian of the Middle Ages who specialised in military history and the history of the nobility. Life Contamine was a president of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettr ...

and preceding Jean Richard. He was responsible for the curation of the

Musée Jacquemart-André The Musée Jacquemart-André (, ) is a private museum located at 158 Boulevard Haussmann in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris. The museum was created from the private home of Édouard André (art collector), Édouard An ...

and the

Chaalis Abbey Chaalis Abbey (, ) was a French Cistercian abbey north of Paris, at Fontaine-Chaalis, near Ermenonville, now in Oise. History It was founded in 1136 by Louis VI of France. There had previously been a Benedictine monastery in the same place. Mo ...

. In 2010, Babelon, alongside

Louis Alphonse de Bourbon Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, Duke of AnjouHis name is given as "Prince Louis Alphonse of Bourbon and Martínez-Bordiú, Duke of Anjou" by Olga S. Opfell in ''Royalty who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe'' (2001), p. 11. (;E ...

, worked on the reburial of

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

at the . A ceremony for the reburial was planned by

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

for May 2012. However, the ensuing and the upcoming

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

delayed the event, and the project was eventually abandoned by

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

. In 2012, he joined the scientific council ''Figaro histoire''. Jean-Pierre Babelon died on 2 February 2024, at the age of 92.

Publications

*''Historique et description des bâtiments des Archives nationales'' (1958) *''Demeures parisiennes sous Henri IV et Louis XIII'' (1965) *''Le Palais de justice, la Conciergerie, la Sainte-Chapelle'' (1966) *''Richesses d’art du quartier des Halles, maison par maison'' (1968) *''L'Église Saint-Roch à Paris'' (1972) *''Paris monumental'' (1974) *''Henri IV'' (1982) *''Paris au xvie siècle'' (1987) *''Le Marais, mythe et réalité'' (1987) *''Châteaux de France au siècle de la Renaissance'' (1989) *"La Notion de patrimoine" (1995) *''François Mansart. Le Génie de l’architecture'' (1998) *''Les Fresques de Tiepolo'' (1998) *''Chantilly'' (1999) *''Jardins à la française'' (1999) *''Le Château d'Amboise'' (2004) *''Le Palais de l'Institut. Du collège des Quatre-Nations à l'Institut de France'' (2005) *''Paris au xvie siècle'' (2007) *''Primatice à Chaalis'' (2007) *''L'Abbaye royale de Chaalis et les collections Jacquemart-André'' (2007) *''L'Église Saint-Roch ou la Grâce divine en action'' (2008) *''Les Archives. Mémoires de la France'' (2008)

Awards

* for ''Paris monumental'' (1976) * for ''Henri IV'' (1982) *

Prix Bordin The Prix Bordin () is a series of prizes awarded annually by each of the five institutions making up the Institut Français since 1835. History The prize was created by Charles-Laurent Bordin, a notary in Paris from 1794 to 1820, who bequeathed 1 ...

for ''Châteaux de France au siècle de la Renaissance'' (1990) * for ''Jardins à la française'' (2000)

Decorations

*Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

*Grand Officer of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

*Commander of the

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

*Commander of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

*Commander of the

Order pro Merito Melitensi The Order of Merit (; ) is the order of merit of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, established in 1920. It is awarded to recipients who have brought honour to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, promoted Christian values and for chari ...

*Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babelon, Jean-Pierre 1931 births 2024 deaths 20th-century French historians 21st-century French historians École Nationale des Chartes alumni École du Louvre alumni Writers from Paris Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Commanders of the Legion of Honour Grand Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Commandeurs of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Knights of the Order of the Polar Star