About
Léopold Sédar Senghor, born October 9, 1906 in Joal, Senegal, and died December 20, 2001 in Verson, France, was a Senegalese statesman, poet, and writer. The first African to earn the French agrégation in grammar (1935), he taught in France before entering politics. A co-founder of the Négritude literary and philosophical movement with Aimé Césaire and Léon-Gontran Damas, he published several major poetry collections. As Senegal's deputy to the French National Assembly (1946–1958), he became the first President of the Republic of Senegal in 1960, serving until his voluntary resignation in 1980. He was elected to the Académie française in 1983, becoming the first African to hold a seat.
* 1906-10-09 — † 2001-12-20
Major works
- Chants d'ombre (1945)poetry
- Hosties noires (1948)poetry
- Éthiopiques (1956)poetry
- Nocturnes (1961)poetry
- Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et malgache (1948)anthology
Key milestones
- 1935First African to earn the French agrégation in grammar.
- 1960Becomes the first President of the Republic of Senegal.
- 1983Elected to the Académie française, the first African to hold a seat.
Themes
NégritudeCultural identityColonialismHumanismLyric poetry
Sources: academie-francaise.fr · poetryfoundation.org · presidence.sn