Valentin Conrart

Valentin Conrart (born 1603, Paris, Fr.—died Sept. 23, 1675, Paris) was a man of letters and authority on grammar and style, known as the practical inaugurator of Classicism in French literature through his leading role in the founding of the Académie Française. The son of a Huguenot merchant from Valenciennes, Conrart was brought up in pious austerity and was never taught Latin or Greek, although he learned Italian and Spanish as soon as he was...