P. C. F. (Pierre Claude François) Daunou

Born in Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1761, Pierre Claude François Daunou was educated by the Oratorians, joined the order, and was ordained as a priest before the Revolution changed the course of his life. He became known not only as a political figure, but also as a historian and man of letters, with a career that reached across the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras.

Daunou is remembered as a moderate during the French Revolution. He took part in public life as a statesman and constitutional thinker, and later served as the nation’s archivist under both the Empire and the Restoration. Alongside politics, he kept up serious scholarly work, contributing to literary history and publishing many lectures from his teaching at the Collège de France.

For readers today, Daunou stands out as an author shaped by both books and events. His work carries the perspective of someone who lived through upheaval yet remained committed to reason, learning, and the long view of history.