About
Joseph Arthur, Count of Gobineau, was born in 1816 in Ville-d'Avray into a royalist aristocratic family. After briefly serving as secretary to Alexis de Tocqueville in 1849, he pursued a diplomatic career under the Second Empire, with posts in Bern, Frankfurt, Tehran, Athens, Rio de Janeiro, and Stockholm. His four-volume essay on the inequality of human races (1853-1855) proposed a racial hierarchy and the superiority of 'Aryans', influencing thinkers such as Wagner and Nietzsche. He also helped introduce the Bábí movement to Europe and published travel accounts, historical studies, and short stories. He died in Turin in 1882.
* 1816-07-14 — † 1882-10-13
Major works
- Essai sur l'inégalité des races humaines (1853-1855)essay
- Trois ans en Asie (1859)travelogue
- Religions et philosophies dans l'Asie centrale (1865)study
- Histoire des Perses (1869)history
- Nouvelles asiatiques (1876)short stories
Key milestones
- 1849Secretary to Alexis de Tocqueville at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- 1855-1858First diplomatic mission to Tehran.
- 1864Publication of the Treatise on Cuneiform Writings.
Themes
racial hierarchyorientalismtravelhistory of civilizationsaristocracy
Sources: britannica.com · heritage.bnf.fr · iranicaonline.org