Robert Lacour-Gayet

Robert Lacour-Gayet (July 22, 1896 – March 2, 1989) was a French banking official, historian, author, and educator who taught in the United States after World War II.

Robert Lacour-Gayet
Born(1896-07-22)July 22, 1896
Paris, France
DiedMarch 2, 1989(1989-03-02) (aged 92)
Paris, France
OccupationHistorian
NationalityFrench
Period1923 - 1986
SubjectFrench History, American History, Economic History

Life and career

Lacour-Gayet came from a family of intellectuals, teachers, and historians. His maternal grandfather was Paul Janet, a French philosopher. His father, Georges Lacour-Gayet, was a historian who published a famous biography of Talleyrand. His brother, Jacques Lacour-Gayet, was an economic historian with whom he frequently collaborated. His half-sister, Georgette Elgey, also became a historian.

He served as an artillery officer during World War I, for which he received the Croix de Guerre.[1] Lacour-Gayet studied at the Lycee Louis-le-Grand, l'Ecole des sciences Politiques, and the University of Paris, from which he held both a Master's and Doctorate in Law, as well as a Doctorate in Economic Science. In 1921, Lacour-Gayet was admitted to the Council of the Inspector General of Finance in France, and was subsequently named Financial Representative of France in the United States (1924-1930). He then became Director of the Economic Department for the Bank of France in 1930, before being named Chief of the Office of Inspectors General of Finance in 1939, a position he held until 1945. He was given the title of Inspecteur général honoraire des Finances.[2]

Lacour-Gayet began his teaching career in the United States in 1945 as a Lecturer in Administrative Law at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He began teaching at St. John's University in 1946, and was appointed Associate Professor and Chairman of the Department of History and Government in 1950. Lacour-Gayet was promoted to Professor in 1954, and remained at St. John's until 1957, when he became Professor Emeritus. He frequently taught evening classes at New York University, and during Summers at the Universite Laval. He became president of the Société des Professeurs Français en Amérique in 1953. Lacour-Gayet returned to Paris in 1957 to teach American history and literature at the Catholic Institute of Paris. He was honored in 1966 with the Homme de Lettres from la fédération des Alliances Françaises aux Etats-Unis.[3] St. John's University awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Letters on March 23, 1964.[4]

Beginning in the 1920s, Lacour-Gayet was a regular contributor to Revue des deux mondes, Revue de Paris, Revue d'histoire diplomatique, and L'Actualité économique, among other publications. In the United States, he contributed articles to the Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York and the American Journal of Economics and Sociology, as well as book reviews to the Catholic Historical Review. He was the author, co-author, or editor of nineteen books, ranging from economic histories of France to popular histories of Canada, South Africa, Australia, and the United States.[5]

Bibliography

Books by Robert Lacour-Gayet:

  • Les Grandes Crises de l'Histoire de France (1945).
  • (with Jacques Lacour-Gayet) De Platon à la Terreur (1948).
  • (with Jacques Lacour-Gayet) Monnaie d'hier et de demain (1956).
  • (with Jacques Lacour-Gayet) Vingt ans de capitalisme d'Etat (1956).
  • La Vie quotidienne aux États-Unis à la veille de la guerre de Sécession, 1830-1860 (1957).
    • English edition: Everyday Life in the United States Before the Civil War, 1830-1860 (1969).
  • Les Renaissances financières de la France de Saint-Louis à Poincaré (1959).
  • Introduction and notes to Mémoires du comte Beugnot (1779-1815) (1959).
  • Introduction and notes to Mémoires du général baron Thiebault (1772-1820) (1962).
  • Calonne: financier, réformateur, contre-révolutionnaire, 1734-1802 (1963).
  • Introduction and notes to Souvenirs du Chancelier Pasquier (1767-1815) (1964).
    • English edition: The Memoirs of Chancellor Pasquier, 1767-1815 (1967).
  • Histoire du Canada (1966; 2nd ed., 1979).
  • Introduction and notes to Mémoires du général baron de Marbot (1799-1815) (1966).
  • Histoire de l'Afrique du Sud (1970).
    • English edition: A History of South Africa (1977).
  • Histoire de l'Australie (1973).
    • English edition: A Concise History of Australia (1976).
  • Histoire des États-Unis, 4 volumes:
    • I: Des origines à la fin de la guerre civile (1976).
    • II: De la fin de la guerre civile à Pearl Harbor (1977).
    • III: De Pearl Harbor à Kennedy (1979).
    • IV: De Kennedy à Reagan (1982).
  • Americaines insolites (1986).

A bibliography of the many articles published by Lacour-Gayet during his decade at St. John's is included in the St. John's University publication, Staff Writings 1947-1957.[6]

References
  1. "Citation for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters: Dr. Robert Lacour-Gayet," Mar. 23, 1964; Bill Esposito, "Sports," St. John's University Alumni News, Apr. 1964, 3.
  2. Who's Who in France/Qui est qui en France, 14th edition, 1979-1980; "Robert Lacour-Gayet Gives Talk on the 'Parisian Spirit,'" Schenectady Gazette, May 15, 1956.
  3. Who's Who in France/Qui est qui en France, 14th edition, 1979-1980; "Robert Lacour-Gayet Gives Talk on the 'Parisian Spirit,'" Schenectady Gazette, May 15, 1956.
  4. "Citation for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters: Dr. Robert Lacour-Gayet," Mar. 23, 1964.
  5. Who's Who in France/Qui est qui en France, 14th edition, 1979-1980; "Robert Lacour-Gayet Gives Talk on the 'Parisian Spirit,'" Schenectady Gazette, May 15, 1956.
  6. Staff Writings 1947-1957. New York: St. John's University, n.d.
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