Expert: Michael J. Motta - 4/19/2009

Question
Hello,

I have a few questions about “George de Lagarde”.
1. His date of birth.
2. His date of death.
3. His nationality
4. Was he a philosopher or a theologian or something else?
5. The exact pronunciation of his last name.

I would be very grateful if you could help me.

Sincerely yours


Answer
Hi Hedayat,

Thanks for your question.

Wow, you sure know how to ask tough questions! I'm sorry that I won't be able to give you much, but I can give you a little bit that's partly based on mere educated guesses. First, it looks like his name is spelled "Georges" (rather than George). I was going to recommend that you ask Caro in the French Language section, but when I got there, I noticed you had already asked him/her. So yes, as you seem to know, it appears that Lagarde was French, or at the very least wrote in French.

Here is the best I could do for you in terms of a webpage with limited information: https://www.alibris.co.uk/search/books/author/Lagarde,%20Georges%20de

My inclination is that he was a scholar, but not a famous one, more like a scholar (in a social sciences or humanities field) who was well-known within a small sector of academia but not a household name by any stretch. Based on the books on that webpage, it looks like he was active in the Mid 20th Century.

My main suggestion to you is to conduct your additional research via a university library, which you might have to try remotely via the internet and/or telephone - I don't know what your situation is in regard to access. Someone at a university library should be able to direct you to the information or at least the means to the information.

I'm sorry I couldn't help more, but there you have it.

Peace,
Michael