Jacques Lelong facts for kids

Jacques Lelong (born 19 April 1665 – died 13 August 1721) was a French bibliographer. He was born in Paris, France. A bibliographer is someone who studies and lists books. They often create detailed lists of books on certain topics.

When Jacques Lelong was just ten years old, he joined the Knights of Malta. This was a famous group of knights. Later, he became part of the Oratorians, a religious community.

Jacques Lelong: A Life of Books

Jacques Lelong became a priest in the Oratory. He spent most of his life working as a librarian. He worked at the Oratory's main building in Paris. He preferred a quiet life, surrounded by books.

His Important Books

Lelong created two very important books during his life. His first major work was called Bibliotheca Sacra. It was published in 1709. This book was a huge list of all the different versions of the Bible known at that time.

His second big project was Bibliothèque historique de la France. This book came out in 1719. It was a very large volume. It listed 17,487 different items, mostly historical documents and books about France. Lelong often added helpful notes to his entries.

Continuing His Legacy

Jacques Lelong's work was very detailed, but it was not fully finished. He hoped his friend, Father Desmolets, would continue it. However, the work was later taken up by a man named Charles-Marie Fevret de Fontette. He was a legal advisor in Dijon.

Fevret de Fontette spent fifteen years and a lot of money rewriting the Bibliothèque historique. The first two volumes of his new edition came out in 1768 and 1769. They contained an amazing 29,143 items.

Fevret de Fontette passed away on 16 February 1772. He had almost finished the third volume. Thanks to Barbaud de La Bruyère, the third volume was published in 1772. Barbaud de La Bruyère then released the fourth and fifth volumes in 1775 and 1778. This new, expanded Bibliothèque historique became a very important reference book. It is still valuable today for historians and researchers.