1887 in France
Events from the year 1887 in France.
Incumbents
- President: Jules Grévy, Marie François Sadi Carnot
- President of the Council of Ministers:
- * until 30 May: René Goblet
- * 30 May-12 December: Maurice Rouvier
- * starting 12 December: Pierre Tirard
Events
- 28 January – Construction of foundation of the Eiffel Tower starts in Paris. On 14 February, a letter of protest against its design signed by members of the artistic community is published on the front page of Les Temps newspaper. On 1 July, work on the iron superstructure begins.
- 11 January – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the French Academy of Medicine by Dr. Joseph Grancher.
- 23 February – The French Riviera is hit by a powerful earthquake originating in Liguria, killing around 2,000 along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
- 21–28 April – The Schnaebele incident nearly leads to war between France and Germany.
- The Lebel Model 1886 rifle is first issued to the French army, the first military firearm to use smokeless powder ammunition.
Literature
- Léon Bloy - Le Désespéré
- Édouard Dujardin - Les lauriers sont coupés
- Joris-Karl Huysmans - En rade
- Pierre Loti - Madame Chrysanthème
- Guy de Maupassant - Le Rosier de Madame Husson
- Jules Verne - Le Chemin de France / Nord contre Sud
- Émile Zola - ''La Terre''
Births
January to June
- 17 January – Marcel Godivier, cyclist
- 18 March – Alfred Vaucher, theologian, church historian and bibliographer
- 16 April – Paul Marie André Richaud, Cardinal
- 31 May – Saint-John Perse, poet and diplomat, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1960
- 13 June – André François-Poncet, politician and diplomat
July to December
- 2 July – Marcel Tabuteau, oboist
- 28 July – Marcel Duchamp, artist
- 16 September – Nadia Boulanger, composer and conductor
- 30 September – Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert, General
- 5 October – René Cassin, jurist and judge, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968
- 11 October – Pierre Jean Jouve, writer, novelist and poet
- 13 November – Jean de Limur, film director
- 31 December – Gaston Modot, actor
Deaths
- 2 August – Joseph-Louis Lambot, inventor of ferro-cement
- 14 August – Jules Pasdeloup, conductor
- 20 August – Jules Laforgue, poet
- 21 October – Bernard Jauréguiberry, Admiral and statesman