1896 in France
Events from the year 1896 in France.
Incumbents
Events
- 11 February – English writer Oscar Wilde's play Salomé has its stage première, in its original French, by Lugné-Poe's Théâtre de l'Œuvre company in Paris, perhaps at the Comédie-Parisienne.
- 28 September – Pathé Frères, one of the oldest film companies, is founded by the brothers Charles, Théophile, Émile and Jacques Pathé.
- 30 September – Italy and France sign a treaty whereby Italy virtually recognizes Tunisia as a French dependency.
- 10 December – Alfred Jarry's play Ubu Roi is premièred by the Théâtre de l'Œuvre in Paris. The opening word, "Merdre!", triggers disturbances and the play is not performed again in the author's lifetime.
- France establishes an administrative post at Abengourou, Ivory Coast.
- At Giverny Claude Monet begins painting his Mornings on the Seine series, which will continue through 1897.
Literature
Sport
- Racing Club de Lyon, a football club predecessor to Olympique Lyonnais, is officially founded.
Births
January to June
- 4 January – André Masson, artist
- 19 February – André Breton, writer, poet, and surrealist theorist
- 20 February – Henri de Lubac, Jesuit priest and theologian
- 19 March – Jean Wiener, pianist and composer
- 18 April – Job de Roincé, journalist and writer
- 20 April – Henry de Montherlant, essayist, novelist and playwright
July to September
- 16 July – Léon Weil, World War I veteran
- 18 July – Jean Dufay, astronomer
- 21 July – Jean Rivier, composer
- 27 July – Henri Longchambon, politician
- 12 August – Alexis Tendil, World War I veteran
- 15 August – Marie Besnard, accused serial poisoner
- 23 August – Jacques Rueff, economist and adviser to the French Government
- 1 September – André Hunebelle, film director
- 14 September – Georges Piot, rower and Olympic medallist
- September – Elsa Triolet, writer
October to December
- 2 October – Jacques Duclos, politician
- 8 October – Julien Duvivier, film director
- 15 October – Célestin Freinet, pedagogue, and educational reformer
- 18 October – Marie-Laurence Quatrefages, politician and Righteous Among the Nations
- 26 October – Louis Renou, indologist
- 18 November – Pierre Couderc, screenwriter, actor, acrobat and film producer
- 29 December – Philippe Étancelin, motor racing driver
Full date unknown
- Albert Besson, hygienist and physician
- Lisette de Brinon, socialite and collaborator
Deaths
January to June
- 8 January – Paul Verlaine, poet
- 26 February – Arsène Houssaye, novelist and poet
- 5 May – Auguste Sallé, traveller and entomologist
- 29 May – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, geologist
- 26 June – Louis, Duke of Nemours, second son of King Louis-Philippe of France
July to December
- 10 July – Joseph-Christian-Ernest Bourret, Cardinal
- 16 July – Edmond de Goncourt, writer, critic and book publisher
- 17 August – Élie-Abel Carrière, botanist
- 18 September – Hippolyte Fizeau, physicist
- 7 October – Louis Jules Trochu, soldier and statesman
- 26 October – Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour, statesman
- 17 December – Paul Arène, poet and writer