M. de (Jean Lévesque) Burigny

Born in Reims in September 1692 and later active in Paris, Jean Lévesque de Burigny was a French historian known for his wide learning and restless curiosity. Early in life, he worked with his brothers on a large manuscript dictionary of universal knowledge, a project that helped shape the breadth of his later writing.

Burigny wrote on an impressive range of subjects. His works include studies of pagan philosophy and theology, a life of Erasmus, a life of Grotius, histories of Sicily and Constantinople, and a translation of Porphyry with an added dissertation of his own. He was also connected to the literary and philosophical circles of his time, including the salon of Madame Geoffrin, and left behind letters touching on Voltaire and other contemporary figures.

In 1775, he was received into the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres. He died in Paris on October 8, 1785, leaving the picture of a scholar deeply engaged with the religious, historical, and philosophical arguments of the Enlightenment.