Maximilien Quenum-Possy-Berry,

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(born December 5, 1911 in

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

, now

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

; died October 21, 1988 in Paris) was a politician who served as a Senator of the Fourth Republic, representing Dahomey in the

French Senate The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 34 ...

from 1955 to 1958. He was also a teacher of philosophy and a writer on ethnology.

Personal life

He was married to Marie-Antoinette Aubert (

Montélimar Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; la, Acumum) is a town in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in north Provence, Southeastern France. It is the second-largest city in the department after Valence. In 2018, ...

) and had five children with her.

Writings

His book ''Légendes africaines: Côte d'Ivoire, Soudan, Dahomey'' (1946) was a collection of historical legends he recalled being told in his childhood by the elders of his village. The book, aimed at children, won an award from the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. Most of his other books were academic ethnological studies; of particular note is his ''Au Pays du Fons: Us et Coutumes de Dahomey'' (1938), which was also lauded by the Académie.

References

External links

page on the French Senate website
Beninese politicians 20th-century Beninese politicians French Senators of the Fourth Republic 1911 births 1988 deaths People from Cotonou Beninese non-fiction writers 20th-century Beninese writers Senators of French West Africa 20th-century non-fiction writers {{Benin-politician-stub