Beaubrun Ardouin

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Alexis Beaubrun Ardouin (1796 - 1865) was a Haitian historian and politician. He is best remembered for his eleven-volume Etudes sur l'Histoire d'Haïti (Studies on the History of Haiti), published in 1865. His Etudes have served as a valuable resource for later historians. Beaubrun Ardouin also wrote the first Haitian textbook, Géographie de l'Ile d'Haïti (Geography of the Island of Haiti) and Instruction sur le Jury.

Beaubrun Ardouin was elected Senator in 1832 and served on the Council of Secretaries of State in 1845.

Growing up during the revolutionary period, Beaubrun Ardouin was not able to attend school regulary; he was self-taught. He had a strong interest in French literature, especially the works of Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Ardouin's brothers, Céligny and Coriolan, were also well-known; Céligny as a politician and historian, Coriolan as a poet. The three Ardouin brothers, along with the Nau brothers, Emile and Ignace, were members of the literary society "The School of 1836," which was founded by Ignace Nau. Coriolan died young in 1836, while Céligny ran afoul of Faustin-Élie Soulouque's government and was executed in 1849. Beaubrun published Céligny's Essais sur l'Histoire d'Haïti (English: Essays on the History of Haiti) in 1865, just before his own death.

[edit] References

• Schutt-Ainé, Patricia; Staff of Librairie Au Service de la Culture (1994). Haiti: A Basic Reference Book. Miami, Florida: Librairie Au Service de la Culture, pp. 90-91. ISBN 0-9638599-0-0.