Pierre Marie Louis de Boisgelin de Kerdu

Born in Brittany on May 5, 1758, he was a member of the Boisgelin family and pursued a military life before becoming known as a writer. Sources describe him as a French nobleman and a Knight of Malta, with later service in the émigré Régiment Royal-Louis during the upheavals of the French Revolution.

His best-known work is Ancient and Modern Malta (1805), a substantial account of Malta, Gozo, and the history of the Knights of St. John. The book stands out because it combines historical narrative with close attention to the islands' institutions, geography, and recent political events.

He died on September 9, 1816, at Pleubian in Brittany. Although not widely read today, his writing remains of interest to readers drawn to Malta, the late eighteenth century, and eyewitness-era histories shaped by war, exile, and aristocratic life.