LENORMANT, CHARLES and FRANÇOIS. — I. CHARLES
French archaeologist and historian, born in Paris on 1 January 1802, died in Athens on 24 November 1859. An encyclopedic and restless spirit, he devoted himself to jurisprudence, Roman law, archaeology, and history.
He travelled extensively, especially in Egypt, together with Champollion. From 1835 he taught at the Sorbonne; having converted to a Christian life during his history courses, he was so disgusted by the hostility of certain circles toward the Church that in 1846 he resigned and went on to teach Egyptian archaeology at the Collège de France.
Among his many writings are: Trésor de numismatique et de égyptique (5 vols., Paris 1836–50); Introduction à l'histoire orientale (there 1838); Musée des antiquités égyptiennes (there 1842); Questions historiques (2 vols., there 1843).
2. FRANÇOIS
Archaeologist and Orientalist, son of the preceding, born in Paris on 17 January 1837, died there on 17 November 1883. L. proved to be a child prodigy; at the age of fourteen he had already published a letter on the Greek tablets of Memphis. Like his father, he travelled extensively, taking an interest in Christian, classical, and Oriental archaeology. His numerous publications, however, are of rather modest scientific value. In 1875 he founded the Gazette archéologique.Among his principal works may be listed: Essai sur la classification des monnaies des Lagides (Paris 1856); Recherches archéologiques à Eleusis (there 1862); Manuel d'histoire ancienne de l'Orient (2 vols., there 1868); Histoire des peuples orientaux et de l'Inde (there 1869); Essai sur la propagation de l'alphabet phénicien dans l'ancien monde (there 1872–75); Choix de textes cunéiformes inédits ou incomplètement publiés (there 1873–75); Les premières civilisations (2 vols., there 1874); La monnaie dans l'antiquité (3 vols., there 1878–79); Les origines de l'histoire d'après la Bible et les traditions des peuples orientaux (2 vols., there 1880–82).