Biographical Overview & Key Facts

Subject:

Edmond Rostand

Role / Field:

Master of Neo-Romanticism, celebrated for Cyrano de Bergerac.

Born:

1868-04-01

Died:

1918-12-02

Century / Era:

1868s Historical Era

Database Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Origins & Early Life

Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (UK: , US: , French: [ɛdmɔ̃ ʁɔstɑ̃]; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century. Another of Rostand's works, Les Romanesques (1894), was adapted to the 1960 musical comedy The Fantasticks.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Rostand was born in Marseille, France, into a wealthy and cultured Provençal family. His father was an economist, a poet who translated and edited the works of Catullus, and a member of the Marseille Academy and the Institut de France. Rostand studied literature, history, and philosophy at the Collège Stanislas in Paris, France. When Rostand was twenty years old, his first play, a one-act comedy, Le Gant rouge, was performed at the Cluny Theatre, 24 August 1888, but it was almost unnoticed. He and his fiancée Rosemonde Gérard became friends with Emmanuel Chabrier in 1889, and the composer quickly set three of his poems (and two of hers) to music; the following year the two collaborated on À la musique for the house-warming...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Adah Isaacs Menken — Contemporary (Died in 1868) (1868): American actress, painter, and poet known for sensational stage performances.
• Annie S. D. Maunder — Contemporary (Born in 1868) (1868): Pioneering Irish astronomer known for discovering the Maunder Minimum and sunspot cycles.
• Arnold Sommerfeld — Contemporary (Born in 1868) (1868): Pioneering theoretical physicist known for quantum and atomic physics.
• Abdul Hamid II — Contemporary (Died in 1918) (1918): Last effective Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, navigating decline and constitutional upheaval.
• Abraham Pais — Contemporary (Born in 1918) (1918): Pioneering physicist and acclaimed science historian of modern physics.
• Adolfo Pedernera — Contemporary (Born in 1918) (1918): Argentine football legend, nicknamed 'El Maestro,' pivotal in the 1940s.
• Abbé Prévost — Shared historical date (04-01 · Born) (1697): French novelist, best known for the highly popular romance, Manon Lescaut.
• Abdul Qadeer Khan — Shared historical date (04-01 · Born) (1936): Pakistani nuclear physicist, known as the 'father of Pakistan's atomic weapons program'
• Aaron Copland — Shared historical date (12-02 · Died) (1990): Pioneering American composer, conductor, and critic, known as the "Dean of American Music".
• Alicia Markova — Shared historical date (12-02 · Died) (2004): Pioneering British ballerina, choreographer, and founder of major ballet institutions.
• 1868 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1868
• April 1 (04-01) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on April 1
• 1918 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1918
• December 2 (12-02) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on December 2

Frequently Asked Questions about Edmond Rostand