Jean Firmin Marbeau (1798 – October 10, 1875) was a French

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

who pioneered the ''crèche'' movement, a forerunner of modern

day care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

. Marbeau was born in

Brive-la-Gaillarde Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of ), commonly known as simply Brive, is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the aggl ...

, and was by profession a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He is best known for founding the first ''crèche'', which opened in Paris on November 14, 1844. The ''crèche'' provided child care to enable working-class mothers to work jobs outside of the home, and spawned a Crèche Movement that led to a number of similar establishments being opened in France; the concept was also influential on the development of day care in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Marbeau wrote a number of books promoting the concept, and died in

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthie ...

in 1875.

Writings

* ''Politique des intérêts'' (1834) * ''Études sur l'économie sociale'' (1844) * ''Des crèches'' (1845) * ''Du paupérisme en France'' (1847) * ''De l'indigence et des secours'' (1850)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marbeau, Firmin 1798 births 1875 deaths French non-fiction writers French male non-fiction writers 19th-century French writers Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Officers of the Legion of Honour 19th-century French philanthropists