Gilbert Chinard

Gilbert Chinard
BornOctober 17, 1881
Châtellerault, France
DiedFebruary 8, 1972 (aged 90)
Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Occupations
  • Professor
  • historian
  • author
SpouseEmma Blanchard
Children
  • Francis
  • Lucienne

Gilbert Chinard (1881–1972) was a French-American historian, professor emeritus, who authored over 40 books.

Born on October 17, 1881, in Chatellerault, France, to Hilaire and Marie (Blanchard) Chinard, educated at the Universities of Poitiers[1] and Bordeaux, in 1908, he married Emma Blanchard, then moved to New York as a visiting instructor in French Literature, leading him in an American academic career, teaching positions at Brown University (1908–12), the University of California, Berkeley (1912–1919), Johns Hopkins University (1919–36), and Princeton University (1937–1950).[2]

Chinard was awarded Guggenheim Fellowship for French Literature.[3] He was promoted from Chevalier to Officier of the Légion d’Honneur in 1934.[4]

Among the many[5] books he authored, were, notably: “Thomas Jefferson, the Apostle of Americanism” (1929), “Hon, est John Adams” (1933) and “L'Apothdose de Benjamin Franklin”, published in Paris in 1955.[6] Famed as a Jefferson scholar.[7] He is noted as being sympathetic to Jefferson.[8]

During WWII, Chinard was active in Free France.[9] In May 1941, Chinard was "one of the seven most influential French men in America" who wrote President Roosevelt, to "congratulate him on his strong warning to the Vichy government."[1] In 1942, he presided over a France Forever meeting.[10] And in 1946, joined its ceremonial activities with Albert Simard.[11]

Chinard was a member of the American Philosophical Society, an honorary member of the American Association of Teachers of French.[12] and president of the Modern Language Association[6] (in 1956).

Chinard died on February 8, 1972, in Princeton, at the age of 90.

The Gilbert Chinard Prize is awarded each year by the Society for French Historical Studies - for a book published the preceding year by a North American press in one of the two following fields: the history of French-American relations; or the comparative history of France and North, Central, or South America.[2]

  1. ^ a b Fellows, Jo-Ann; Tucker, Stephen Davis (1973). Host bibliographic record for boundwith item barcode 89058306143. pp. 15–17. [1]
  2. ^ a b "Gilbert Chinard". SFHS. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  3. ^ "Gilbert Chinard". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  4. ^ "Communications and Notes" (PDF). The French Review. 8 (1): 62. November 1934. JSTOR 380179. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  5. ^ Chinard, Gilbert 1881-1972, Worldcat.org
  6. ^ a b "GILBERT CHINARD; TAUGHT FRENCH". The New York Times. 1972-02-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  7. ^ Waldstreicher, David (2013-05-06). A Companion to John Adams and John Quincy Adams. John Wiley & Sons. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-470-65558-0.
  8. ^ Ambrose, Douglas; Martin, Robert W. T. (2007). The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton: The Life and Legacy of America's Most Elusive Founding Father. NYU Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-8147-0724-1.
  9. ^ Revue de la France libre, Revue No. 209, Jan Feb, 1975. Fondation de la France libre.
  10. ^ Sraff Correspondent, "'France Forever' Thanks US." Free France, April 14, 1942.
  11. ^ Inc, France Forever (1946). Year Book. pp. 128, 134, 137. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ "Directory of the American Association of Teachers of French". The French Review. 28 (6): 571–608. 1955. ISSN 0016-111X. JSTOR 382827.