Pierre Beaumarchais (24 January, 1732 – 18 May, 1799) was a French playwright, inventor, diplomat and many other evolution over his life. He is remembered for many things, but mainly for authoring the three Figaro plays: The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro and The Guilty Mother.
- Pierre-Augustin Caron was born in Paris, the only boy in a family with six children. As the only son, he was spoiled by both his parents and sisters.
- His father, of André-Charles Caron, was a watchmaker and supported the large family comfortably.
- He went to school until the age of 12, when he started an apprenticeship with his father as a watchmaker. At the time, pocket watches were considered an accessory because they kept such poor time. Beaumarchais, however, researched for about a year on how to make the watches more accurate, and invented a mechanical linkage called escapement that allowed the watches to be much more accurate.
- The royal clockmaker, Jean-André Lepaute, who mentored Caron after a chance encounter at the family’s shop, encouraged him to work on his new invention. After earning the young man’s trust, Lepaute stole the invention naming it the Lepaute System. Caron, however, defended his invention aggressively, and proved to the French Academy of Sciences that he, indeed, invented the escapement.
- Pierre-Augustin Caron created a watch mounted on a ring for Madame de Pompadour on behalf of King Louis XV. The watch was considered a marvel of watchmaking.
- In 1755, Pierre-Augustin Caron married the widow Madeleine-Catherine Aubertin who help him secure a position in the royal office. He adopted the name Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais which he though sounded more aristocratic. Sadly, his wife died in about a year.
- After being denied a position as a diplomat in Spain, Pierre Beaumarchais concentrated on his playwright career to great success.
- Beaumarchais helped the United States during the American Revolution, delivering munitions, money and supplies.
- He lost his civil rights due to a bribery scandal, and to get them back he worked as a spy in the services of Louis XV.
- After the death of Voltaire (1778), Beaumarchais bought the rights to complete works. Since many of them were banned in France, he set up a printing company in German. At one point the company became the largest printer in Europe.
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Sources:
Pierre Beaumarchais | Wikipedia
Pierre Beaumarchais | New World Encyclopedia
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Fun Facts Friday: Pierre Beaumarchais
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Pierre Beaumarchais (24 January, 1732 – 18 May, 1799) was a French playwright, inventor, diplomat and many other evolution over his life
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Man of la Book
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