J. Fr. (Joseph Fr.) Michaud

Born in Albens, Savoy, in 1767, Joseph-François Michaud became a French historian, writer, journalist, and publicist. He lived through the upheavals of the French Revolution and was known for his royalist sympathies, which shaped both his journalism and his career.

He is most closely associated with Histoire des Croisades (History of the Crusades), the work for which he is still most widely remembered. Michaud also played an important role in the vast reference project Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne, working with his brother Louis-Gabriel Michaud and others on one of the major biographical enterprises of the period.

His writing combined narrative energy with a strong point of view, which helped make his histories widely read in the 19th century. He died in 1839 at Passy, near Paris, leaving behind a body of work that sits at the crossroads of history, politics, and literature.