Edmond Privat (17 August 1889 – 28 August 1962) was a

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

Esperantist An Esperantist () is a person who speaks, reads or writes Esperanto. According to the Declaration of Boulogne, a document agreed upon at the first World Esperanto Congress in 1905, an Esperantist is someone who speaks Esperanto and uses it for ...

. A

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

, university professor, author, journalist and peace activist, he was a graduate of the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

and a lecturer for the World Peace Foundation. His collective works consist of original

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

s, stories, textbooks and books about the Esperanto movement.

Esperanto activity

Having already learned

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

in childhood, Privat and fellow student

Hector Hodler Hector Hodler (1 October 1887, in Geneva – 31 March 1920, in Leysin, Switzerland) was a Swiss Esperantist who had a strong influence on the early Esperanto movement. Hodler was a son of the Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler, who after a period of ...

founded in 1903 the journal ''Juna Esperantisto'' (The Young Esperantist). Though still an adolescent in 1905, he walked 600 kilometres to participate in the first

World Congress of Esperanto The World Esperanto Congress (, UK) is an annual Esperanto convention. It has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run for 119 years. The congresses have been held since August 5, 1905, every ye ...

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he spoke with mature eloquence. At the 1907 International Socialist Congress, Privat advocated the use of Esperanto by the International Socialist Bureau in Brussels. Privat served as a committee member of the

World Esperanto Association The Universal Esperanto Association (, UEA), also known as the World Esperanto Association, is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers, with 5,501 individual members in 121 countries and 9,215 through national associations (i ...

() beginning in 1912. From 1920 until 1934, he was editor-in-chief of Esperanto's eponymous official magazine. From 1924 until 1938 he was president of the UEA and at the same time president of the International Central Committee. He resigned after a scandal. Privat advanced the international Esperanto organization inside and outside UEA. His works '' History of the Esperanto language'' (in two volumes) and '' The Life of Zamenhof'' made him one of the most important historians of Esperanto. As the first historian of Esperanto and Zamenhof's first biographer, he used his connections within Swiss academia to further Esperanto. He authored a linguistic study ''Esprimo de sentoj en Esperanto (Expression of feelings in Esperanto)'', is the author of the lyrical '' Ginevra'' and of the poem anthology ''Tra l'silento (Through the Silence)''. Also, he wrote books teaching Esperanto, ''Karlo'' and ''Course Reader''. During the years 1923–1926, Privat was a vice-delegate of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

at the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

.. He presented Esperanto at the League of Nations, at the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

(ILO) and at the Universal Telegraph Union. He was a brilliant organizer, and arranged many international conferences about Esperanto instruction in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

(1922). He became a Quaker in 1936. He was a very spiritual person with a wide open heart to the Unity of Religions, as we can see in one of his best books "Sagesse de l'Orient au dela des Religions", published around 1945, where we take us in a tour around the different religions and spiritual movements, ending with his appreciation of Gandhi.

Selected works

*''Esperanto at a Glance'' (1908) *''Esperanto in Fifty Lessons'' (1908) *''Karlo'' (reading book, 1909) *''At the Heart of Europe'' (brochure, 1909) *''A Living Language of a Living People'' (1910) *''About Esperanto Literature'' (1912) * ''The Last Kiss'' (1912) *''Through the Silence'' (original poems), 1912) *'' Ginevra'' (original drama-legend in verse, 1913) *''Course reader'' (1913) *''History of the Esperanto Language'' (two volumes, 1912, 1927) *'' The Life of Zamenhof'' (1920) *''Expression of Senses in Esperanto'' (1931) linguistic study *''Conduct between Peoples'' (philosophy, 1934) psychological study of international problems *''Aux Indes avec Gandhi'' 1934 *''Le Chancelier Décapité: St. Thomas More.'' (1935) *''Les Anglais, des pirates aux Prophètes'' (1939) *''Sagesse de l'Orient au dela des Religions'' (spirituality, 1945) *''Federal Experience'' (1958) *''Collective Works of Youth'' (1960) (includes ''Through the Silence'') *''Adventures of a Pioneer'' (1963) amusing stories about serious encounters and events *''Life of Gandhi'' (1967) *''Two Speeches''

Sources

The Esperanto Book: Appendix 4
Online. September 18, 2007.

Online. September 18, 2007. *Forster, Peter Glover. ''The Esperanto Movement ''
Google Books
Online. September 18, 2007. *Matthias, Ulrich. ''Esperanto - The New Latin for the Church and for Ecumenism''

Online September 18, 2007.

Online. September 18, 2007.

External links

Original registration of the voice of Privat at the convention of SES in 1954 (mp3-file from the CDELI Sound Archive)
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Privat, Edmond Swiss Esperantists Writers of Esperanto literature Esperanto history Presidents of the Universal Esperanto Association Writers from Geneva University of Geneva alumni 1889 births 1962 deaths Converts to Quakerism Swiss Quakers