Home > Antoine Alexandre Barbier

Born in Coulommiers ( Seine-et-Marne). He took priest's orders, from which, however, he was finally released by the pope in 1801. In 1794 he became a member of the temporary commission of the arts, and was charged with the duty of distributing among the various libraries of Paris the books that had been confiscated during the French Revolution. In the execution. of this task he discovered the letters of Huet, bishop of Avranches, and the manuscripts of the works of Fénelon.

He became librarian successively to the French DirectoryThe Directory (in French Directoire held executive power in France from October 1795 until November 1799 from the end of the Convention to the beginning of the Consulate. Five Directors shared power. In the history of France, this period constitutes the l, to the Conseil d'Etat, and in 1807Events February Napoleon attacks Russia February 8 Battle of Eylau Napoleon defeats Russians under General Benigssen February 19 In Alabama, Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason. March 2 The United States Congress to Napoleon, from whom he carried out a number of commissions. He produced a standard work in his Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes et pseudonymes (4 vols., 1806Events January 8 Cape Colony becomes a British colony January 10 Dutch in Cape Town surrender to the British January 19 The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope March 23 After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocea— 1809Events January 16 Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of Corunna. February 3 Illinois Territory was created. February 11 Robert Fulton patents the steamboat. February 20 A decision by the Supreme Court of the United States states t). Only the first part of his Examen critique des dictionnaires historiques ( 1820Events January 1 Constitutionalist military insurrection at Cadiz leads to summoning of Spanish parliament ( March 7) and restoration of 1812 Constitution ( March 8) by king Ferdinand VII. January 29 George the Prince Regent becomes king George IV of the) was published.

He had a share in the foundation of the libraries of the LouvreThe Louvre Museum Musee du Louvre , located in Paris, is one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. The building, a former royal palace (see below), lies in the centre of Paris, between the Seine river and the Rue de Rivoli. Its central cour, of Fontainebleau, of Compiègne and Saint-Cloud; under Louis XVIII he became administratorof the king's private libraries, but in 1822 he was deprived of all his offices. Barbier died in Paris on December 5, 1825.