Abel Bergaigne

Born in Vimy on August 31, 1838, Abel Bergaigne was one of the greatest French Indianists of the 19th century. After studying in Paris, he defended two noted theses in 1877: one on the sovereign gods in the Vedic religion, the other on linguistics in Indo-European languages. A professor of Sanskrit and comparative linguistics at the Sorbonne, he was distinguished by his erudition and philological rigor. His work on the Rig-Veda earned him international renown. He died accidentally on August 6, 1888, in La Grave.