Born August 31 1900, Tunis (Tunisia). Died May 13 1999, Brussels (Belgium).

Education and professional career

• 1923 : Teacher at Lycée Carnot, Tunis
• 1926 : Teacher at Collège Chasseloup-Laubat, Saïgon
• 1927 : Teacher at Lycée Albert Sarraut, Hanoi
• 1932 : Professor at the University of Hanoi
• 1936 : Lecturer, then Professor at the Free University of Brussels
• 1936 : Doctor of State, Paris
• 1939 : Mobilized
• 1940 : Lecturer (geography), Faculty of Letters, Montpellier
• 1942 : Professor of geography, Faculty of Letters, Bordeaux
• 1944 : Vice-President of the Liberation Committee for the Gironde department
• 1947-1970 : Professor at the Collège de France, Chair of Tropical Studies