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François-René de Chateaubriand facts for kids

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François-René de Chateaubriand
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Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson 006.jpg
Chateaubriand Meditating on the Ruins of Rome (ca.1810s) by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson. Oil on canvas.
French Ambassador to the Papal States
In office
4 January 1828 – 8 August 1829
Appointed by Jean-Baptiste de Martignac
Preceded by Adrien-Pierre de Montmorency-Laval
Succeeded by Auguste de La Ferronays
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
28 December 1822 – 4 August 1824
Prime Minister Jean-Baptiste de Villèle
Preceded by Mathieu de Montmorency
Succeeded by Hyacinthe Maxence de Damas
French Ambassador to the United Kingdom
In office
22 December 1822 – 28 December 1822
Appointed by Jean-Baptiste de Villèle
Preceded by Antoine de Gramont
Succeeded by Jules de Polignac
French Ambassador to Prussia
In office
14 December 1821 – 22 December 1822
Appointed by Jean-Baptiste de Villèle
Preceded by Charles-François de Bonnay
Succeeded by Maximilien Gérard de Rayneval
French Ambassador to Sweden
In office
3 April 1814 – 26 September 1815
Appointed by Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand
Member of the Académie française
In office
1811–1848
Preceded by Marie-Joseph Chénier
Succeeded by Paul de Noailles
Personal details
Born (1768-09-04)4 September 1768
Saint-Malo, Brittany, France
Died 4 July 1848(1848-07-04) (aged 79)
Paris, Seine, France
Spouse(s)
Céleste Buisson de la Vigne
(m. 1792; her death 1847)
Profession Writer, translator, diplomat
Military service
Allegiance Kingdom of France
Branch/service Armée des Émigrés
Years of service 1792
Rank Private
Battles/wars
Writing career
Period 19th century
Genre Novel, memoir, essay
Subject Religion, exoticism, existentialism
Literary movement Romanticism
Conservatism
Notable works
Years active 1793–1848

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François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who had a notable influence on French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocratic family from Brittany, Chateaubriand was a royalist by political disposition. In an age when large numbers of intellectuals turned against the Church, he authored the Génie du christianisme in defense of the Catholic faith. His works include the autobiography Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe ("Memoirs from Beyond the Grave"), published posthumously in 1849–1850.

Historian Peter Gay says that Chateaubriand saw himself as the greatest lover, the greatest writer, and the greatest philosopher of his age. Gay states that Chateaubriand "dominated the literary scene in France in the first half of the nineteenth century".

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