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

1593 - Jean de Brébeuf (French Jesuit missionary)

1643 - Louis Moréri (French encyclopedist)

1661 - Paul de Rapin (French historian)

1884 - Georges Imbert (Alsatian chemical engineer)

1912 - Jean Vilar (French actor)

1921 - Simone Signoret (French actress)

1946 - Maurice Krafft (French vulcanologist)

1955 - Daniel Boulud (French chef and restaurateur)

Deaths

1558 - Marcos de Niza (French Franciscan explorer)

1914 - Frédéric Mistral (French poet)

1918 - Claude Debussy (French composer)

1980 - Roland Barthes (French literary critic and writer)

1994 - Max Petitpierre (member of the Swiss Federal Council)

Milestones/Events

1802 - France and United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Amiens as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"

1901 - Nice, France: "Week of Nice" race - Mercedes won its first racing victory

1957 - Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community (EEC): Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, West Germany

1960 - Jacqueline Boyer won the fifth Eurovision Song Contest for France singing "Tom Pillibi"

Errors and Omissions

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