Pierre Nora facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pierre Nora
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Pierre Nora in June 2011
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| Born | 17 November 1931 |
| Died | 2 June 2025 (aged 93) Paris, France
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| Education | Lycée Carnot |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Known for | Member of the Académie Française |
| Partner(s) | Anne Sinclair (2012–2025) |
| Relatives | Simon Nora (brother) |
Pierre Charles Nora (born 17 November 1931 – died 2 June 2025) was a famous French historian. He was chosen to join the Académie Française on 7 June 2001. This is a very important group in France that protects the French language.
Nora was well-known for his studies on French identity and memory. He was also connected to a new way of studying history called nouvelle histoire (new history).
Contents
Growing Up and School
Pierre Nora was the youngest of four children. His father, Gaston Nora, was a well-known doctor in Paris. His mother was Julie Lehman.
During World War II, he met important thinkers like Jean Prévost. In the 1950s, he studied at a famous school called Lycée Louis-le-Grand. He tried three times to get into another top school, the École Normale Supérieure, but didn't succeed.
However, Nora later felt that this was a good thing. He believed it led him to a more interesting life. Around this time, the poet René Char greatly influenced him. Nora earned a philosophy degree and became a history teacher in 1958.
His Career as a Historian
Nora taught at a high school in Oran, Algeria, from 1958 to 1960. He wrote a book about his experiences there, called Les Français d'Algérie ("The French of Algeria") (1961).
In 1962, the Algerian War ended with a peace treaty. Nora was asked to go to Algeria. His job was to check on the situation of Algerian Jews. He also had to make sure their historical records were brought back to France.
He met Ahmed Ben Bella, a leader in Algeria. Ben Bella thought Nora was part of the local Algerian Jewish community. During this trip, Nora was almost executed by a group of rebels. Luckily, the local police arrived in time to save him.
From 1961 to 1963, he worked at the Fondation Dosne-Thiers. He then taught at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Paris Institute of Political Science) from 1965 to 1977. Starting in 1977, he became a director of studies at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales. In 2014, Nora received the Dan David Prize for his important work on history and memory.
Working in Publishing
Pierre Nora also had a very important career in publishing books. In 1964, he joined Éditions Julliard. There, he started a collection of paperback books called Archives.
In 1965, he moved to Éditions Gallimard, a major French publishing house. Gallimard wanted to publish more books in the social sciences. Nora helped them do this by creating two important book collections. These were the Library of social sciences in 1966 and the Library of histories in 1970. He also started the Témoins collection in 1967.
Under Nora's guidance at Gallimard, many important scholarly books were published. These books became very famous in their fields. Some of the well-known authors he published include:
- Michel Foucault with books like Les Mots et les Choses (1966).
- Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie with Montaillou (1975), which sold many copies.
- Jacques Le Goff with Saint Louis (1997).
Nora's important role gave him a lot of influence in French publishing. However, he also faced some criticism. For example, he decided not to translate Eric Hobsbawm's book, The Age of Extremes (1994). Nora admired the book but felt it wasn't the right time to publish it in France. He explained that the public mood towards Communism in France was not suitable for that kind of book.
His Ideas and Public Life
In May 1980, Nora started a review called Le Débat with philosopher Marcel Gauchet. This quickly became one of the most important intellectual magazines in France.
He also joined the Saint-Simon Foundation, a think tank created in 1982. This group was dissolved in 1999.
Nora spoke out against a law from 2005 that supported a positive view of France's past overseas presence. He signed a petition called "Freedom for History." This part of the law was later removed in 2006.
Nora is also famous for leading a big project called Les Lieux de Mémoire (Places of Memory). This project was a series of three books. They listed and described important places and objects that hold the national memory of the French people.
His book Les Français d'Algérie (1961) has been criticized by some scholars. They say it showed a bias against French Algerians, also known as "Pieds-Noirs." Nora believed that French Algerians were different from people living in mainland France. His ideas came from his two years teaching in Algeria. Some historians say his book was not based on original research.
Personal Life
Pierre Nora was the brother of Simon Nora, who was also a senior French official. He was the uncle of Olivier Nora, who is now a president and publisher at Éditions Grasset.
He was married to art historian Françoise Cachin from 1964 to 1976. Later, he lived with French journalist Anne Sinclair after 2012. He also had a son, who is now a biologist in San Francisco.
Nora was an Ashkenazi Jew. In 2001, when he joined the Académie française, he had a Star of David engraved on his ceremonial sword. This showed his belief that "the Jewish contribution to the world belongs to things of the mind more than to weaponry." He felt he would always be Jewish as long as any Jew was threatened because of their identity.
Death
Pierre Nora passed away in Paris on 2 June 2025, at the age of 93.
Honours and Awards
Honours
- Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (a very high French award)
- Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (France)
- Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters)
Awards
- 1988: Prix Diderot-Universalis
- 1991: Louise-Weiss Award of the Bibliothèque nationale de France
- 1993: Grand prix Gobert of the Académie Française
- 1993: French Grand National History Prize
- 2011: Prix Jean-Zay
- 2012: Prix Montaigne de Bordeaux
- 2014: Dan David Prize
- 2021: Jean-Jacques Rousseau Prize
Honorary Degrees
- 1989: Université Laval (Canada)
See also
In Spanish: Pierre Nora para niños
- Memory space (social science)
