Born in Paris on September 12, 1906. Died in 1988.
Married Paule Kriéger in 1960.
Education and professional career
- 1928: Licencié ès Lettres, Paris
- 1933: Graduate of the École pratique des Hautes Études, IVe section
- 1931-1935: Boarder at the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, Cairo
- 1935-1939: Chargé de mission at this institute
- 1939-1940: Mobilized as a reserve infantry lieutenant
- 1940-1942 and 1944-1945: CNRS scholarship holder
- 1945-1978: Director of Studies at the École pratique des Hautes Études, IVe section
- 1952-1953: Visiting Professor, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- 1961-1978: Professor at the Collège de France, Egyptian Philology and Archaeology
- Since 1969: Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres