1709 in France
Events from the year 1709 in France.
Incumbents
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. 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 fought near the French border: French strategic victory but tactical victory for the opposing alliance.
Births
- 7 February - Charles de Brosses, writer
- 24 February - Jacques de Vaucanson, engineer and inventor
- 14 April - Charles Collé, dramatist
- 7 August - Jean-Jacques Lefranc, Marquis de Pompignan, polymath
- 29 August - Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset, poet and dramatist
- 3 September - Joan Claudi Peiròt, Occitan writer
- 23 November - Julien Offray de La Mettrie, physician and philosopher
Full date unknown
- Jean Girardet, painter of portrait miniatures
Deaths
- 20 January - François de la Chaise, confessor of Louis XIV
- 9 February - François Louis, Prince of Conti, general
- 5 April - Roger de Piles, painter, engraver, art critic and diplomat
- 17 July - Pascal Collasse, composer
- 4 September - Jean-François Regnard, comic poet
- 17 October - François Mauriceau, obstetrician
- 8 December - Thomas Corneille, dramatist
- 13 December - Louis de Verjus, politician and diplomat
- 31 December - Pierre Cally, philosopher
Full date unknown
- Jean-Baptiste Boyer d’Éguilles, engraver, painter and collector
- Louise de Prie, royal governess
- Thierry Ruinart, monk