Etienne Arago French playwright, politician and journalist Date of Birth: 09.02.1802 Country: France

1. Biography of Étienne Arago
2. Political Career
3. Later Life and Career

Biography of Étienne Arago

Étienne Arago was a French playwright, politician, and journalist. He was born on February 9, 1802, in Perpignan. He received his education and worked as a chemistry preparator at the Polytechnic School in Paris before switching to a career in playwriting. Arago often collaborated with other writers to create vaudevilles, comedies, fairy tales, and melodramas. From 1829 to 1840, he served as the director of the Théâtre des Variétés and also worked for various political and literary journals. He was one of the founders of the radical daily newspaper "La Réforme."

Political Career

Arago was an active participant in the opposition movement during the July Monarchy. He fought on the barricades twice, in July 1830 and during the February 1848 revolution. After the February Revolution, he became the head of the postal department with the influence of his brother Dominique François. During his tenure, Arago introduced the system of franking letters and established a unified postal weight tariff for all of France.

As a member of the Constituent Assembly, Étienne Arago belonged to the Republican left political party. Following his involvement as an officer in the failed uprising of June 13, 1849, he fled to Belgium and then lived in the Netherlands, England, and Sardinia until he was allowed to return to Paris following the amnesty of 1859. Some of his works during his exile include "Spa, son origine, son histoire etc." (a poem in seven songs), "Le Deux Décembre" (a poem in five songs), and "Une voix dans l’exil" (a poem).

Later Life and Career

Upon his return, Arago worked as a theater critic for the newly established "L'Avenir national" until 1870. After the fall of the Second French Empire, he was appointed as the mayor of Paris. However, due to his lack of experience in municipal affairs, he proved unfit for the position and was forced to resign on November 15, 1870, making way for Jules Ferry.

In February 1878, he was appointed as an archivist at the École des beaux arts and later became the director of the Luxembourg Museum, where he secured a new location for the museum. He prepared his memoirs about the events of the Second Republic titled "Ce que j’ai vu" (What I Saw) for publication. Étienne Arago passed away on March 7, 1892, in Paris.