Cornelius de Pauw
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Cornelius Franciscus de Pauw or Cornelis de Pauw (Corneille de Pauw in French; August 18, 1739—July 5, 1799) was a Dutch philosopher, geographer and diplomat at the court of Frederick the Great of Prussia.
[edit] Biography
Although born in Amsterdam, son of Antonius Pauw en Quirina van Heijningen, he spent most of his life in Kleve. Working for the clergy, he nonetheless became familiar with the ideas of The Enlightenment. During his lifetime he was considered to be the greatest expert on the Americas, although he never visited the continent; he also wrote at length on the origins of ancient peoples, rejecting the popular idea of the time that China would have originally been a colony of Ancient Egypt.
As a renowned scholar, he corresponded with the major philosophes of his time - including Voltaire -, and was asked to contribute articles to the Encyclopédie. He was the uncle of Anacharsis Cloots, to whom he was also a teacher.
De Pauw died in Xanten. Napoleon I of France had an obelisk raised in his memory in Xanten.
[edit] Works
- Recherches philosophiques sur les Américains, ou Mémoires intéressants pour servir à l’Histoire de l’Espèce Humaine. Avec une Dissertation sur l’Amérique & les Américains, London, 1771
- Recherches philosophiques sur les Égyptiens et les Chinois, London, Lausanne and Geneva, 1774
- Recherches philosophiques sur les Grecs, Paris, 1788, Berlin, 1787-1788
