Robert Lacour-Gayet
| Robert Lacour-Gayet | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
July 22, 1896 Paris, France |
| Died | March 2, 1989 (aged 92) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Nationality | French |
| Period | 1923 - 1986 |
| Subject | French History, American History, Economic History |
Robert Lacour-Gayet (July 22, 1896 – March 2, 1989) was a French banking official, historian, author, and educator who taught in the United States after World War II.
Lacour-Gayet came from a family of intellectuals, teachers, and historians. His maternal grandfather was Paul Janet, a French philosopher. His father, , was a historian who published a famous biography of Talleyrand. His brother, , was an economic historian with whom he frequently collaborated.
He served as an artillery officer during World War I, for which he received the Croix de Guerre. Lacour-Gayet studied at the Lycee Louis-le-Grand, l'Ecole des sciences Politiques, and the University of Paris, from which he held both a Master's and Doctorate in Law, as well as a Doctorate in Economic Science. In 1921, Lacour-Gayet was admitted to the Council of the Inspector General of Finance in France, and was subsequently named Financial Representative of France in the United States (1924-1930). He then became Director of the Economic Department for the Bank of France in 1930, before being named Chief of the Office of Inspectors General of Finance in 1939, a position he held until 1945. He was given the title of Inspecteur général honoraire des Finances.
Lacour-Gayet began his teaching career in the United States in 1945 as a Lecturer in Administrative Law at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He began teaching at St. John's University in 1946, and was appointed Associate Professor and Chairman of the Department of History and Government in 1950. Lacour-Gayet was promoted to Professor in 1954, and remained at St. John's until 1957, when he became Professor Emeritus. He frequently taught evening classes at New York University, and during Summers at the Universite Laval. He became president of the Société des Professeurs Français en Amérique in 1953. Lacour-Gayet returned to Paris in 1957 to teach American history and literature at the Catholic Institute of Paris. He was honored in 1966 with the Homme de Lettres from la fédération des Alliances Françaises aux Etats-Unis. St. John's University awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Letters on March 23, 1964.
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