François-René de Chateaubriand

François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who influenced French literature of the 19th century. Descended from an old aristocratic family from Brittany, Chateaubriand was a royalist by political disposition. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1822 to 1824 and as the French ambassador to Sweden, Prussia, the United Kingdom, and the Papal States. In an age when large numbers of intellectuals turned against the Church, Chateaubriand authored Génie du christianisme (The Genius of Christianity) in defense of the Catholic faith. His works include the autobiography Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe (Memoirs from Beyond the Grave), published posthumously in 1849–1850, now widely regarded as one of the most important works in French literature. In 1811 he was made a member of the Académie Française. Historian Peter Gay said that Chateaubriand saw himself as the greatest lover, the greatest writer, and the greatest philosopher of his age. Gay states that Chateaubriand "dominated the literary scene in France in the first half of the nineteenth century".