About
The only son of physicist André-Marie Ampère, Jean-Jacques Ampère distinguished himself as a historian of literatures and civilizations. Professor at the Sorbonne and then at the Collège de France, he was elected to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1842 and to the Académie française in 1847. His travels across Europe, North Africa, the Americas, and the Orient enriched his writings. He helped introduce Scandinavian and German literatures to France, notably by translating Hoffmann's tales. His major work, L'Histoire romaine à Rome, was based on direct observation of ancient monuments.
* 1800-08-12 — † 1864-03-27
Major works
- De l'histoire de la poésie (1830)essay
- Histoire littéraire de la France avant le douzième siècle (1839-1840)historical study
- Histoire de la formation de la langue française (1841)philological study
- Grèce, Rome et Dante (1848)essay
- L'Histoire romaine à Rome (1861-1864)historical study
Key milestones
- 1830Appointed professor of foreign literature at the Sorbonne.
- 1847Elected to the Académie française.
- 1848Succeeds Sainte-Beuve as curator of the Bibliothèque Mazarine.
Themes
Literary historyTravelPhilologyComparative literatureRoman antiquity
Sources: britannica.com · bibliotheque-mazarine.fr · en.wikisource.org