author
Henri Carbou
1882–1973
A French colonial administrator and ethnographer, he wrote vivid studies of Chad and Ouaddaï that brought together language, geography, and close observation of daily life. His books remain notable for their early documentation of peoples and dialects in Central and West Africa.
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About the author
Born in Perpignan in 1882, Henri Carbou became an administrator in the French colonial service. Records from the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques identify him as a French colonial official and place his life from 1882 to 1973.
He is best known for works such as La région du Tchad et du Ouadaï and Méthode pratique pour l'étude de l'arabe parlé au Ouaday et à l'est du Tchad. Library and catalog sources describe him as an ethnographer whose writing focused on the peoples, languages, and regions of Chad and surrounding areas.
His career included postings in Oualata, Koulouba, Koutiala, Tombouctou, and later Ziguinchor. No confirmed portrait image was found in the sources reviewed, so no author photo is included here.