Auguste-Charles-Joseph Vitu (7 October 1823 – 5 August 1891) was a 19th-century French journalist and writer.
Biography
The natural son of a Parisian rentier, Vitu began his career as a typographer-worker before becoming a journalist. In 1867
[''Panthéon de la Légion d'honneur : dictionnaire biographique des hommes du XIXe'', Volume 6, par Théophile Lamathière, page 500] he founded ' (which he directed until his death in 1891) and later created the newspaper ''L’Étendard'' from which he was lucky to be deposed in August 1868, before the sensational trial filed against the manager Jules Pic. He was chief editor of the ''Peuple Français'' at the request of
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
from 1869.
Vitu is mostly known for his book ''Paris, images et traditions'', reprinted several times. He also published a book on the popular jargon of the 15th century and another on Napoleon III whose style of moustache and goatee he adopted.
Auguste Vitu was in turn publisher, political and military historian, literary and theatre critic, novelist, author of finance textbooks. He collaborated with numerous Parisian newspapers and founded ''Le Bons sens d'Auvergne'' in
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...
and ''L'Ami de l'ordre'' in
Grenoble
Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
to local policy purposes.
He is buried at
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world.
Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...
(46th division) in Paris. The in the
15th arrondissement of Paris
The 15th arrondissement of Paris () is one of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ('the fifteenth').
The 15th arrondissement, called , is situated on the Rive ...
was named after him in 1912.
Main publications
*date unknown: ''Histoire de la Typographie'', librairie Ch. Delagrave, Paris
*1845–1846: ''Les Chauffeurs du Nord'', novel published under the name Vidocq
*1851: ''Révision ou révolution''
*1852: ''L’Empereur à Grenoble''
*1854: ''L’Histoire de Napoléon III et du rétablissement de l’Empire''
*1854: ''Études littéraires sur la Révolution française''
*1860: ''La Résurrection de Lazare'', with Henri Murger
*1860: ''Ombres et vieux murs''
*1860: ''Contes à dormir debout''
*1861: ''Le Budget de 1862''
*1864: ''Le Guide financier''
*after 1867: ''Paris : 450 dessins inédits''
*1868: ''L’Histoire civile de l’armée''
*1868: ''Le Bilan de l’Empire''
*1869: ''Qui mange le budget ?''
*1869: ''Les Réunions publiques à Paris'' et ''Les Réunions électorales à Paris'', brochure où l’auteur n’a pour documents que des rapports de police qui dénaturent complètement presque partout la pensée des orateurs
*1873: ''Notice sur François Villon''
*1874: ''Le Lendemain de l’Empire''
*1883: ''La maison de Molière'', winner of the
prix Montyon in literature awarded by the
Académie française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
.
Honours
*
Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was o ...
(15 March 1862 decree)
*
Officier of the Légion d'honneur (30 June 1867 decree)
Base Léonore
''Base Léonore'', or the Léonore database, is a French database that lists the records of the members of the National Order of the Legion of Honor. The database lists the records of those inducted into the Legion of Honor
The National Or ...
on the site of the Ministère de la Cultur
/ref>
References
External links
Auguste Vitu
on Wikisource
His books digitized by the BNF
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitu, Auguste
People from Meudon
1823 births
1891 deaths
19th-century French journalists
French male journalists
Knights of the Legion of Honour
Officers of the Legion of Honour
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
19th-century French male writers