Félix Éboué
| Félix Éboué | |
|---|---|
Éboué shaking hands with Charles de Gaulle in Chad
|
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 1, 1884 Cayenne, French Guiana, |
| Died | March 17, 1944 (aged 60) Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt |
| Spouse(s) | Eugenié Tell (1889-1971) |
Adolphe Sylvestre Félix Éboué (1 January 1884 – 17 March 1944) was a Black French Guianan-born colonial administrator and Free French leader. He was the first black French man appointed to a high post in the French colonies, when appointed as Governor of Guadeloupe in 1936.
As governor of Chad (part of French Equatorial Africa) during most of World War II, he helped build support for Charles De Gaulle's Free French in 1940, leading to broad electoral support for the Gaullists faction after the war. He supported educated Africans and placed more in the colonial administration, as well as supporting preservation of African culture. He was the first black person to have his ashes placed at the Pantheon in Paris after his death in 1944.
Born in Cayenne, French Guiana, the grandson of slaves, Félix was the fourth of a family of five brothers. His father, Yves Urbain Éboué, was an orator, and his mother, Marie Josephine Aurélie Leveillé, was a shop owner born in Roura. She raised her sons in the Guiana Créole tradition.
Éboué won a scholarship to study at secondary school in Bordeaux. Éboué was also a keen footballer, captaining his school team when they travelled to games in both Belgium and England. He graduated in law from the École nationale de la France d'Outre-mer (called École coloniale for short), one of the grandes écoles in Paris.
...
Wikipedia