Nicolas François de Neufchâteau | |
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.JPG) Engraving modeled after a portrait byJean-Baptiste Isabey, 1798 | |
| President ofConservative Senate | |
| In office 19 May 1804 – 19 May 1806 | |
| Preceded by | Louis-Nicolas Lemercier |
| Succeeded by | Gaspard Monge |
| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 17 June 1798 – 22 June 1799 | |
| Preceded by | François Sébastien Letourneux |
| Succeeded by | Nicolas Marie Quinette |
| In office 15 July 1797 – 13 September 1797 | |
| Preceded by | Pierre Bénézech |
| Succeeded by | François Sébastien Letourneux |
| President of theDirectory | |
| In office 23 April 1798 – 9 September 1797 | |
| Preceded by | François Barthélemy |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Baptiste Treilhard |
| President of theLegislative Assembly | |
| In office 26 December 1791 – 6 January 1792 | |
| Preceded by | Pierre-Édouard Lémontey |
| Succeeded by | Jean Antoine d'Averhoult |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1750-04-17)17 April 1750 |
| Died | 10 January 1828(1828-01-10) (aged 77) |
| Education | College ofNeufchâteau |
Nicolas François de Neufchâteau (French pronunciation:[fʁɑ̃swad(ə)nœfʃɑto,-nøʃɑto]; 17 April 1750 – 10 January 1828) was a Frenchstatesman, poet, andagricultural scientist.
Born at on 17 April 1750 inSaffais, inMeurthe-et-Moselle, the son of a schoolteacher,[1] he studied at the College ofNeufchâteau in theVosges. At the age of fourteen, he published a volume of poetry which obtained the interest ofJean-Jacques Rousseau andVoltaire.[1] When only sixteen, he was elected member of some of the main academies of France. In 1783 he was namedprocureur-général to the council ofSaint Domingue.He had previously been engaged on a translation ofAriosto, which he finished before his return to France five years afterwards, but it was destroyed on a shipwreck during his voyage home.[1]
During theFrench Revolution, Neufchâteau was elected deputy supplant to theNational Assembly, charged with the organization of thedépartement of the Vosges, and elected later to theLegislative Assembly, of which he first became secretary and then president.[1]In 1793 he was imprisoned on account of his playPaméla ou la vertu récompensée (Théâtre de la Nation, 1 August 1793).[1] His play had been denounced by Collot d'Herbois because lines spoken about persecution could easily be interpreted as criticism of the ruling faction and the entire cast was arrested along with him on the 2 September.[2] He was released the following year with the start of theThermidorian Reaction.[1]
In 1797, he becameMinister of the Interior,[3] distinguishing himself by his thorough administration. It is Neufchâteau who initiated the French system of inland navigation. He inaugurated the museum of theLouvre and was one of the promoters of theExposition des produits de l'industrie française, the first universal exhibition of industrial products.[1] He replacedLazare Carnot as a member of theFrench Directory, a position he held between 9 September 1797, and 23 April 1798.[4]
From 19 May 1804 to 19 May 1806 he was president of theConservative Senate,[1][5] coinciding with the establishment of theFirst Empire — his office implied that he was the one to solicitNapoleon Bonaparte to assume the title ofEmperor.[1] In 1803, he was admitted to theAcadémie Française, and in 1808 he received the dignity ofcount.[1] Retiring from public life in 1814, after theBourbon Restoration, he occupied himself chiefly with the study ofagriculture until his death.[1]
He died in Paris on 10 January 1828.
Neufchâteau had multiple accomplishments, and interested himself in a great variety of subjects, but his fame rests mostly on what he did as a statesman for the encouragement and development of the industries of France. His late poetical productions are not judged to be as original as his youthoeuvre.He was a notedgrammarian andliterary critic, as is witnessed by his editions of theLettres provinciales andPensées ofBlaise Pascal (Paris, 1822 and 1826) andAlain-René Lesage'sGil Blas (Paris, 1820). He was also the author of a large number of works onagriculture.[1]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "François de Neufchâteau, Nicolas Louis, Count".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 14–15. In turn, it cites as references:| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of the Interior 16 July 1797 – 14 September 1797 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of the Interior 17 June 1798 – 22 June 1799 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Seat 2 Académie française 1803–1828 | Succeeded by |
French Directory (2 November 1795 to 10 November 1799) | |||||||||||||||
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