Prosper Mérimée

Prosper Mérimée (September 28, 1803–September 23, 1870) was a French dramatist, historian, archaeologist, and short story writer. One of his stories was the basis of the opera Carmen. September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years). ... Events January 30 - Monroe and Livingston sail for Paris to discuss, and possibly buy, New Orleans. ... September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). ... 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... History is a term for information about the past. ... Excavation is just one stage of archaeological research. ... Carmen is a French opera by Georges Bizet, with text by Meilhac and Halévy, based on the novel by Prosper Mérimée. ...

Prosper Mérimée was born in Paris, France. He studied law as well as Greek, Spanish, English, and Russian. He was the first interpreter of much Russian literature in France. The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Law (a loanword from Danish- Norwegian lov), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow... The Greek language (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of some 3,000 years. ... This article is about the international language known as Spanish. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Russian (русский язык  listen?) is the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages. ...

Mérimée loved mysticism, history, and the unusual, and was influenced by the historical fiction popularised by Sir Walter Scott and the cruelty and psychological drama of Aleksandr Pushkin. Many of his stories are mysteries set in foreign places, Spain and Russia being popular sources of inspiration. Mysticism (ancient Greek mysticon = secret) is meditation, prayer, or theology focused on the direct experience of union with divinity, God, or Ultimate Reality, or the belief that such experience is a genuine and important source of knowledge. ... For the first Premier of Saskatchewan see Thomas Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott (August 14, 1771 - September 21, 1832) was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet popular throughout Europe. ... Aleksandr Pushkin was a Russian poet and a founder of modern Russian literature Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Пу́шкин) (June 6 (May 26, O.S.), 1799 - February 10 (January 29, O.S.), 1837), Russian author, whom many consider the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. ... The Kingdom of Spain or Spain (Spanish and Galician: Reino de España or España; Catalan: Regne dEspanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma) is a country located in the southwest of Europe. ... The Russian Federation (Russian: Росси́йская Федера́ция, transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija), or Russia (Russian: Росси́я, transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija), is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. ...

In 1830, Mérimée was appointed to the post of inspector-general of historical monuments. He was a born archaeologist, combining linguistic faculty of a very unusual kind with accurate scholarship, with remarkable historical appreciation, and with a sincere love for the arts of design and construction, in the former of which he had some practical skill. In his official capacity he published numerous reports, some of which, with other similar pieces, have been republished in his works. 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Mérimée met and befriended the Countess of Montijo in Spain in 1830. When her daughter became the Empress Eugenie of France in 1853 he was made a senator. 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Maria Eugenia Ignacia Augustina Palafox de Guzmán Portocarrero y Kirkpatrick, 9th Countess de Teba, aka Eugenia de Montijo (May 5, 1826 - July 11, 1920) was Empress of France (1853-1871). ... Events January 19 - Giuseppe Verdis opera Il Trovatore premieres in Rome January 21 - Russell L. Hawes patents the envelope folding machine January 29 - Napoleon III marries the Spanish Countess Eugènie at the Tuileries March 4 – Inauguration of US president Franklin Pierce June 7 - Franklin College of Lancaster, Pennsylvania merges...

Prosper Mérimée died in Cannes, France and was interred there in the Cimetière du Grand Jas. The seaside town of Cannes, in southern France, as seen from a ferry speeding towards lîle Saint Honorat Cannes (Canas in Provençal) ( pronounced ) is a city and commune in southern France, located on the French Riviera, in the Alpes-Maritimes département. ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ...

Works

• Cromwell (1822) - his first play.
• Le Théâtre de Clara Gazul (1825) - a hoax, supposedly a translation by one Joseph L'Estrange of work written by a Spanish actress.
• La Guzla (1827) - another hoax, ballads about various mystical themes proportedly translated from the original Illyrian by one Hyacinthe Maglanowich.
• La Jacquerie (1828) - dramatic scenes about a peasant insurrection in feudal times.
• La Chronique du temps de Charles IX (1829) - a novel about French court life.
• Mosaïque (1833) - a collection of short stories.
• Notes de voyages (1835-40) - describing his travels through Greece, Spain, Turkey, and France.
• Colomba (1840) - his first famous novella, about a young Corsican girl who forces her brother to commit murder for the sake of a vendetta.
• Carmen (1846) - another famous novella describing an unfaithful gypsy girl who is killed by the soldier who loves her (made into an opera by Georges Bizet in 1875).
• Lokis (1869) - exploring supernatural themes.
• La Chambre bleue (1872) - also with a supernatural bent.
• Lettres à une inconnue (1874) - a collection of letters from Mérimée to Jenny Dacquin, published after his death.

Events March 30 - Florida becomes a United States territory. ... Events January 4 - King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies dies and is succeeded by his son Francis I of the Two Sicilies. ... Events February 20 - Battle of Huzaingo February 28 - The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad offering commercial transportation of both people and freight. ... Events January 4 - The Vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Comte de Villèle as Prime Minister of France. ... Events January 8 - Hanging of body-selling murderer William Burke - his associate William Hare, who testified against him, is released January 19 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethes Faust premieres March 4 - Andrew Jackson succeeds John Quincy Adams as the President of the United States of America. ... Events January 3, Britain seizes control of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Georges Bizet (October 25, 1838 – June 3, 1875), was a French composer of the romantic era best known for his opera Carmen. ... 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1872 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Events January - April January 1 - New York City annexes The Bronx January 23 - Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, to Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, only daughter of Emperor Alexander III of Russia. ...

External links

• Project Gutenberg e-texts of some of Prosper Mérimée's works (http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/author?name=Merimee,%20Prosper)

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. Project Gutenberg (PG) was launched by Michael Hart in 1971 in order to provide a library, on what would later become the Internet, of free electronic versions (sometimes called e-texts) of physically existing books. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica ( 1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...