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Joseph–François Michaud (; 19 June 1767 – 30 September 1839) was a French
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
and
publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for work or a project such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists wh ...
.


Biography

Michaud was born at either La Biolle or Albens in the
Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy (; ) was a territorial entity of the Savoyard state that existed from 1416 until 1847 and was a possession of the House of Savoy. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy f ...
(then a part of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
and a possession of the
King of Sardinia Sardinia is traditionally known to have been initially ruled by the Nuragic civilization, which was followed by Greek colonization, conquest by the Carthagians, Carthaginians, and occupied by the Ancient Rome, Romans for around a thousand years, ...
). He was educated at
Bourg-en-Bresse Bourg-en-Bresse (; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Located northeast of Lyon, it is the capital of the ancient Provinces of France, province of Bresse (). I ...
, and afterwards engaged in literary work at
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, where the French Revolution first aroused the strong dislike of revolutionary principles which manifested itself throughout the rest of his life. In 1791 he went to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where, at great risk to his own safety, he took part in editing several royalist journals. One of those was the ''Gazette universelle'' that he founded together with Pascal Boyer and Antoine Marie Cerisier. It was very successful until it was suppressed in August 1792 and its editors had to flee to escape arrest.Favre, R., ''Antoine Cerisier (1749-1828)'' in ''Dictionnaire des Journalistes (1600-1789)'', page 15

/ref> In 1796 he became editor of ''
La Quotidienne ''La Quotidienne'' () was a French Royalist newspaper. History It was set up in 1790 by M. de Coutouly. It ceased publication in the face of events in 1792, before returning to print in July 1794 under the title ''Le Tableau de Paris'', returning ...
'', for which he was arrested after the 13th of Vendémiaire; he evaded his captors, but was sentenced to death ''in absentia'' by the military council. Having resumed the editorship of his newspaper on the establishment of the
French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate; ) was the system of government established by the Constitution of the Year III, French Constitution of 1795. It takes its name from the committee of 5 men vested with executive power. The Directory gov ...
, he was again proscribed on the 18th of Fructidor, but after two years returned to Paris, when the
Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...
had superseded the Directory. His
Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon, a beer produced by Brasseries de Bourbon * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * Bourbon coffee, a type of coffee ma ...
sympathies led to a brief imprisonment in 1800, and on his release he temporarily abandoned journalism, and began to write and edit books. In 1806, with his brother
Louis Gabriel Michaud Louis-Gabriel Michaud (; 19 January 1773, Castle Richemont – 8 March 1858) was a French writer, historian, printer, and bookseller. He was notable as the compiler of ''Biographie Universelle'' (1811–). Life He became a lieutenant on 15 Jul ...
and two colleagues, he published ''Biographie moderne ou dictionnaire des hommes qui se sont fait un nom en Europe, depuis 1789'', the earliest work of its kind. In 1811 published the first volume of his ''Histoire des Croisades'' (History of the Crusades) and also the first volume of his ''Biographie Universelle''. In 1813 he was elected
Academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. Accor ...
, taking up the vacancy left by the death of
Jean-François Cailhava de L'Estandoux Jean-François () is a French given name. Notable people bearing the given name include: * Jean-François Carenco (born 1952), French politician * Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), French Egyptologist * Jean-François Clervoy (born 1958), ...
. In 1814 he resumed the editorship of ''La Quotidienne''. His brochure ''Histoire des quinze semaines ou le dernier règne de Bonaparte'' (1815) met with extraordinary success, passing through twenty-seven editions within a very short time. His political services were now rewarded with the cross of an officer in 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 ...
and the modest post of king's reader, of which last he was deprived in 1827 for having opposed Peyronnet's "Loi d'Amour" against the freedom of the Press. In 1830-1831 he travelled in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
and
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
for the purpose of collecting additional materials for the ''Histoire des Croisades''; his correspondence with a fellow explorer, Jean Joseph François Poujoulat, consisting practically of discussions and elucidations of various points in that work, was afterwards published (', 7 vols., 1833–1835). Like the ''Histoire'', it is more interesting than exact. The ''Bibliothèque des croisades'', in four volumes more, contained the "Pièces justificatives" of the ''Histoire''. Michaud died at
Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, on the Rive Droite, Right Bank. It is adjacent to Auteuil, Paris, Auteuil to the southwest, and Chaillot to the northeast. It is home to many ...
, where his home had been since 1832.


Works

Michaud's ''Histoire des croisades'' was published in its final form in six volumes in 1840 under the editorship of his friend Jean Joseph François Poujoulat.Michaud, Joseph. (1841)
Histoire des croisades
6. éd. Paris.
This was translated to ''The History of the Crusades'' (1852)Michaud, J., Robson, W. (1881)
The history of the crusades
New ed. London.
by British author William Robson (1785–1863), with a biographical notice on Michaud by American essayist Hamilton W. Mabie. Michaud, along with Poujoulat, also edited ''Nouvelle collection des mémoires pour servir de l'histoire de France'' (32 vols., 1836–1844). See
Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he se ...
, ''Causeries du lundi'', vol. vii. In 1875, the famous illustrator
Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6January 1832 – 23January 1883) was a French printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravings illustrati ...
produced 100 pictures for a 2 volume medium folio edition of the ''Histoire'' which was published by Hachette and Company. A detailed discussion and critique of the ''Histoire des croisades'' was done by British historian of the Crusades
Christopher Tyerman Christopher J. Tyerman (born 22 May 1953) is a British academic and historian focusing on the Crusades. In 2015, he was appointed Professor of History of the Crusades at the University of Oxford. Life and career Tyerman was an undergraduate a ...
in his ''The Debate on the Crusades, 1099–2010'' (2011).


Notes


References


Joseph Michaud
in ''The New American Encyclopaedia'', 1865. * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michaud, Joseph Francois 1767 births 1839 deaths Burials at Passy Cemetery 19th-century French historians People from Savoie Members of the Académie Française Historians of the Crusades Officers of the Legion of Honour Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration