Learn about important dates in French and francophone history: famous birthdays, holidays and celebrations, and other milestones. If the above does not match today's date or you wish to choose a specific date, please click here.

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Birthdays

1748 - Claude Louis Berthollet (French chemist)

1899 - Jean de Brunhoff (French author)

1901 - Jean Mermoz (French pilot)

1927 - Pierre Henry (French composer)

1969 - Bixente Lizarazu (French soccer player)

1972 - Fabrice Santoro (Tahitian-born French tennis player)

Deaths

1793 - Gabrielle de Polastron, comtesse de Polignac (French aristocrat)

1887 - Mahmadu Lamine (Senegalese marabout and military leader)

Milestones/Events

1425 - Belgium: Catholic University of Leuven founded

1851 - The first YMCA in North America established in Montreal, Québec

1897 - Paris: Activist Marguerite Durand founded the feminist daily newspaper La Fronde

1905 - France: Law separating church and state passed

1986 - Musée d'Orsay opened to the public (it was inaugurated on 1 December)

Errors and Omissions

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