Incumbents

President: Jules Grévy
President of the Council of Ministers:
- until 29 January: Charles Duclerc
- 29 January-21 February: Armand Fallières
- starting 21 February: Jules Ferry

Events

27–28 March – Battle of Gia Cuc, French victory over Vietnamese forces.
19 May – Battle of Paper Bridge, French defeat by Black Flag forces.
25 August – Treaty of Hué signed between the Nguyễn dynasty Emperor of Viet Nam and the French Empire, recognizing French imperial control over the regions of Annam and Tonkin.
De Dion-Bouton set up in Paris to manufacture mechanical road vehicles.
The first purebred Percheron (horse) stud book is created.

Births

January to June

5 January – Marie-Louise Bouglé, feminist, librarian, and archivist (died 1936)
3 February – Camille Bombois, naïve painter (died 1970)
18 February – Jacques Ochs, artist, épée and foil fencer and Olympic gold medallist (died 1971)
15 May – Maurice Feltin, Cardinal (died 1975)
28 June – Pierre Laval, politician and Prime Minister (executed) (died 1945)

July to December

19 July – Louis Paulhan, pilot (died 1963)
25 July – Louis Massignon, scholar and historian of Islam (died 1962)
19 August – Coco Chanel, fashion designer (died 1971)^[1]
14 September – Rose Combe, writer and railway worker (died 1932)^[2]
14 December – Robert Péguy, film director (died 1968)
16 December – Max Linder, actor (died 1925)
17 December – Raimu, actor (died 1946)
19 December – Abel Bonnard, poet, novelist and politician (died 1968)
22 December – Edgard Varèse, composer (died 1965)
26 December – Maurice Utrillo, painter (died 1955)

Full date unknown

Charles Jourdan, fashion designer (died 1976)

Deaths

4 January – Antoine Chanzy, general and governor of Algeria (born 1823)
23 January – Gustave Doré, artist, engraver, illustrator and sculptor (born 1832)
17 February – Napoléon Coste, guitarist and composer (born 1805)
24 April – Jules Sandeau, novelist (born 1811)
30 April – Édouard Manet, painter (born 1832)
5 May – Louis Viardot, writer, art historian and critic, theatrical figure, hispanophile and translator (born 1800)
11 May – Juliette Drouet, actress, mistress and secretary of Victor Hugo (born 1806)
19 May – Henri Rivière, Naval officer and writer (born 1827)
25 May – Édouard René de Laboulaye, jurist (born 1811)
20 June – Gustave Aimard, traveller and writer (born 1818)
11 August – Edouard Louis Dubufe, painter (born 1820)
24 August – Henri, comte de Chambord, Legitimist Pretender to the throne of France (born 1820)
6 September – Auguste Arnaud, sculptor (born 1825)
29 October – Henri-Marie-Gaston Boisnormand de Bonnechose, Cardinal (born 1800)
27 November – Charles Théodore Colet, Roman Catholic Archbishop (born 1806)

References

^ "Coco Chanel | Biography, Fashion, Designs, Perfume, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
^ Vialatte, Alexandre; Pourrat, Henri; Hadjadj, Dany; Coyault, Sylviane (2001). Correspondance Alexandre Vialatte - Henri Pourrat: 1916-1959 5, De Paris à Héliopolis: mars 1935 - juillet 1939 (in French). Clermont-Ferrand: Presses Universitaires Blaise-Pascal. p. 58. ISBN 978-2-84516-381-2.

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