Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo was born in 1802 in Besanҫon. His father was an army general who taught Hugo to admire Napoleon. After his parents separated, he went with his mom to Paris. He made his debut with Han D’Islande (1823) followed by Bug- Jargal (1826). In 1822, he married Adѐle Foucher. He gained wider fame with the play Hernani (1830) and The Hunch Back of Notre Dame (1831). Hugo became involved with politics. After three attempts, he was elected in 1841 to Académie Franҫaise. He had a daughter in 1843 named Lѐopoldine who died. After a decade, he began to publish again. After the 1848 Revolution, Victor was elected to the Constitutional Assembly and Legislature Assembly. When the coup d’état happened in 1851, he felt endangered, and fled. Hugo’s voluntary exile lasted 20 years, and during this time, he wrote his best works Les Chatiments (1853) and Les Misérables (1862). Political upheaval and the proclamation of the Third Republic made him return. Hugo had lived in Brussels during the Paris commune, but he was expelled for sheltering defeated revolutionaries. He lived in Luxemburg, and eventually returned to Paris to become a Senator. Hugo died on May 22, 1885 and was given a national funeral. It was estimated that 2 billion people attended. He was buried in the Panthéon.