author
1727–1794
An 18th-century French priest and teacher, he wrote clear, practical textbooks that helped generations of students learn Latin, grammar, and Roman history. His best-known schoolbook, De viris illustribus urbis Romae, remained in use long after his lifetime.
by C. F. L'Homond
Born in Chaulnes in 1727, Charles-François L'Homond became known as a French priest, grammarian, and educator. He studied at the Collège d'Inville in Paris, later served there as dean, and spent many years teaching at the Collège du Cardinal-Lemoine in the Latin Quarter.
He wrote several works for students, including books on French and Latin grammar, Roman history, and religious history. Among them, De viris illustribus urbis Romae a Romulo ad Augustum from 1779 became especially influential and was still used much later by students learning Latin.
During the French Revolution, he was imprisoned in 1792 after refusing to swear allegiance to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, though he was released soon afterward. He died on December 31, 1794. A statue in his hometown of Chaulnes still commemorates him.