Louis Christophe François Hachette (; 5 May 1800 – 31 July 1864) was a French publisher who established a Paris publishing house designed to produce books and other material to improve the system of school instruction. Publications were initially focused on the classics and subsequently expanded to include books and magazines of all types. The firm is currently part of a global publishing house.

Early life

Hachette was born on 5 May 1800 at

Rethel Rethel () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture and third-most important city and economic center in the department. It is situated on the river Aisne, near the northern border of Champagne and 37 ...

in the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of France. He was a son of Jean Hachette (1775–1840) and Marie Ledouble (1781–1862). After studying for three years at the prestigious

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

with the intention of becoming a teacher, in 1822 he was expelled, on political grounds. In 1826, after briefly studying law, Hachette opened Brédif, a bookshop located near the Sorbonne in Paris. The focus of the business was to produce works designed to improve the system of school instruction and to promote general culture in the community. He published manuals on various topics including dictionaries of modern and ancient languages, educational journals, and French, Latin and Greek classics annotated by the most eminent authorities.

Milestones

In 1833, the Guizot Schools Law was passed which required all municipalities to open a primary school. Louis Hachette had been putting together an alphabet primer since 1829 and his was the only company capable of responding to the public order for a million textbooks. In 1846, the L. Hachette & Company was founded. That year, Emile Littré signed a contract with the new firm to publish a dictionary, the first volumes of which appear in 1863. In 1852, Hachette contracted with seven railway companies to create station bookstalls. In addition to travel guides for rail passengers, the small outlets sold novels by authors including

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855), the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, was a French essayist, poet, translator, and travel writer. He was a major figure during the era of French romantici ...

George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balz ...

and the children’s series Bibliothèque Rose, including those by La Comtesse de Ségur. In 1855 Hachette founded ''Le Journal pour tous'', a publication with a circulation of 150,000 weekly. He started printing '' Le Tour du Monde'', a weekly travel journal, in January 1860."Hachette Livre: Key Dates"
. Retrieved on 12 March 2014. Hachette also manifested great interest in the formation of mutual friendly societies among the working classes, in the establishment of benevolent institutions, and in other questions relating to the amelioration of the poor, a subject on which he wrote various pamphlets. He also lent the weight of his influence towards a just settlement of issues relating to international literary copyright.

Personal life

Hachette was married twice, first to ''Amélie'' Catherine Marie Agathe Barbedienne (1803–1832) on 17 February 1827 in Paris. Before her death, they were the parents of: * Marie-Joséphine Hachette (1828–1831), who died young. * Louise Agathe Hachette (1829–1900), who married Emile François Templier in 1849. * Alfred Louis Hachette (1832–1872), who married Marie Aumont in 1861. After Amelie died in 1832, he married Pauline ( Royer) Auzat (1804–1872), the widow of Édouard Jean Maurice Auzat, on 29 January 1836 in Paris. Before his death, they were the parents of a son: * George-Jean Hachette (1832–1892), who married Marie Teyssier in 1868. Hachette died in Paris on 31 July 1864."Hachette, Louis Christophe Francois". (2000). ''Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Biography''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hachette, Louis 1800 births 1864 deaths 19th-century French businesspeople Book publishing company founders École Normale Supérieure alumni French book publishers (people) French magazine founders French magazine publishers (people) People from Rethel

Early life

Milestones

Personal life

See also

References