1709 in France explained

Events from the year 1709 in France

Incumbents

• Monarch  - Louis XIV^[1]

Events

• 1 January  - Battle of St. John's: French capture St. John's, capital of the British colony of Newfoundland.
• 6 January  - Western Europe's Great Frost of 1709, the coldest period in 500 years, begins during the night, lasting three months, with its effects felt for the entire year.^[2] In France, the Atlantic coast and Seine River freeze, crops fail, and 24,000 Parisians die. Floating ice enters the North Sea.
• 13 April  - The Raudot Ordinance of 1709 becomes law in the French colony of New France, legalizing slavery.
• 11 September  - Battle of Malplaquet (War of the Spanish Succession) fought near the French border: French strategic victory but tactical victory for the opposing alliance.

Births

• 7 February  - Charles de Brosses, writer (died 1777)^[3]
• 24 February  - Jacques de Vaucanson, engineer and inventor (died 1782)
• 14 April  - Charles Collé, dramatist (died 1783)
• 7 August  - Jean-Jacques Lefranc, Marquis de Pompignan, polymath (died 1784)
• 29 August  - Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset, poet and dramatist (died 1777)
• 3 September  - Joan Claudi Peiròt, Occitan writer (died 1795)
• 23 November  - Julien Offray de La Mettrie, physician and philosopher (died 1751)
• Full date missing  - Jean Girardet, painter of portrait miniatures (died 1778)

Deaths

• 20 January  - François de la Chaise, confessor of Louis XIV (born 1624)
• 9 February  - François Louis, Prince of Conti, general (born 1664)
• 5 April  - Roger de Piles, painter, engraver, art critic and diplomat (born 1635)
• 17 July  - Pascal Collasse, composer (baptized 1649)
• 4 September  - Jean-François Regnard, comic poet (born 1655)
• 17 October  - François Mauriceau, obstetrician (born 1637)
• 8 December  - Thomas Corneille, dramatist (born 1625)^[4]
• 13 December  - Louis de Verjus, politician and diplomat (born 1629)
• 31 December  - Pierre Cally, philosopher (born 1630)
• Full date missing
  • Jean-Baptiste Boyer d’Éguilles, engraver, painter and collector (born 1650)
  • Louise de Prie, royal governess (born 1624)
  • Thierry Ruinart, monk (born 1657)

Notes and References

1. Web site: BBC - History - Historic Figures: Louis XIV (1638-1715) . www.bbc.co.uk . 9 June 2022.
2. Pain, Stephanie. "1709: The year that Europe froze." New Scientist, 7 February 2009.
3. Encyclopedia: Brosses, Charles de. Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon. 4. 1916. 2. Blangstrup, Chr.. Christian Blangstrup. J.H. Schultz Forlagsboghandel. Copenhagen. da. 2015-09-12.
4. Web site: Thomas Corneille French dramatist Britannica . www.britannica.com . 10 March 2022 . en.