1741-94

French journalist, playwright, and aphorist

Chamfort's birth parents are not known for certain, but may have been Jacqueline de Montrodeix and her lover. He was adopted by a grocer, François Nicolas, and his wife. After a good education he began to write and became very well known as a playwright and conversationalist and associate of la Fontaine, and was elected to the French Academy. He was an early convert to the ideals of the French Revolution but balked at the excesses of the Terror.

References

Dever, Maria, and Dever, Aileen. Relative Origins: Famous Foster and Adopted People. (Portland: National Book Company, 1992)
Chamfort. Chamfort maxims : anecdotes, personalities, letters, historical writings, etc.
Arnaud, Claude. Chamfort, a Biography. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992)
Dictionnaire de Biographie Française
"Nicolas de Chamfort, (1741-1794)." Available at: http://lafontaine.net/chamfort.htm

Indexes

European
France
18th Century
Literature
Birth Identity Disputed or Deliberately Concealed
Birth or Infancy
Others ("Strangers")
Adoptees/Fosterees from Wealthy, Famous, Noble or Divine Birth Families