Born August 24 1902, Luméville-En-Ornois (Meuse). Died in Paris, November 28 1985.
The son of a teacher, he spent his childhood in the countryside, often living on the farm with his grandmother. In 1908, he moved to Paris with his family. He received a classical education at the Lycée Voltaire from 1913 to 1920. He studied history at the Sorbonne and met his future wife, Paule, in Algeria.
Education and professional career
- 1923 : Agrégé d'histoire
- 1924-1932 : History teacher at Constantine and Algiers high schools
- 1932-1935 : Teacher at Lycées Pasteur, Condorcet and Henri IV (Paris)
- 1935-1937 : Professor at the Faculty of Science, Literature and Philosophy in São Paulo, Brazil
- 1937 : Director of Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (IVth section: philology and history)
- 1938 : Mobilized
- 1940-1945 : Prisoner in Germany
- 1946-1948 : Director of the journal Les Annales
- 1947 : Doctor of Letters
- 1950-1972 : Professor of the History of Modern Civilization at the Collège de France
- 1956-1972 : Director of Studies at the VIe section of the École pratique des Hautes Études (Economic and Social Sciences)
- 1962 : Founder of the Association internationale d'histoire économique and director of the Maison des Sciences de l'homme
Awards and distinctions
- Correspondent of numerous foreign academies, notably those of Budapest, Munich, Madrid and Belgrade.
- Honorary doctorate from several universities, including Oxford, Brussels, Madrid, Warsaw, Cambridge, Yale, Geneva, Padua, Leiden, Montreal, Cologne and Chicago.
- Elected to the Académie française on June 14, 1984, in André Chamson's chair, and received on May 30, 1985 by Maurice Druon.
- Commander of the Légion d'Honneur