Louis-Pierre Anquetil (21 February 1723 – 6 September 1808) was a French

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 ...

Biography

He was born in

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 ...

on 21 February 1723. In 1741, he joined the religious community of the Génofévains, where he took

holy orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

and became professor of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. Later, he became rector of the seminary at

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

, where he published the 3-volume "Civil and Political History of Reims" (), in 1756 and 1757. In 1759, he was appointed prior of the abbey de la Roe in Anjou; shortly thereafter he became director of the college of

Senlis Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hauts-de-France. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other ...

. While there, he composed a history of France in the 16th and 17th centuries (') published in 1767. The year before, he had obtained the curacy or priory of Chateau-Renard near Montargis. He also became a member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...

. At the beginning of the French Revolution, he moved to the curacy of La Villette near Paris but, during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

, he was imprisoned at St-Lazare. While there, he began his summary of world history ('), afterwards published in nine volumes. On the establishment of the National Institute, he was elected as a 2nd-class member of the Academy of Moral and Political Science. He was also employed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an experience which informed his treatment of the last three kings of the

Ancient Regime Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient hi ...

('). He is said to have been asked by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

to write his 14-volume "History of France" (', 1805).

Augustin Thierry Jacques Nicolas Augustin Thierry (10 May 179522 May 1856; also known as Augustin Thierry) was a French historian. Although originally a follower of Henri de Saint-Simon, he later developed his own approach to history. A committed liberal, his a ...

criticized the work as "cold and colourless", and mentioned that Anquetil compared unfavorably to other noted French historians. The work was compiled at second or third hand and censurable in many respects but went through numerous editions and made Anquetil famous. It was continued by Adolphe Bouillet in 6 more volumes. He died on 6 September 1808. His younger brother

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

was a famous orientalist.

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Biography

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