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Abel-François Poisson

Paris, 18 Feb 1727 – Paris, 12 May 1781

11 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 18 Feb 1727

    Born in Paris

  2. 1751–1774

    Surintendant des Bâtiments

  3. 12 May 1781

    Dies in Paris, aged 54

Family

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Parents

Partner

During his lifetime

He lived through 7 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Paris.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1720s · Abel-François is born in Paris

In the news1720–1721

The Great Plague of Marseilles

The Great Plague of Marseilles, the last major plague epidemic in France, devastated the region between 1720 and 1721.

Getting around

Travel by mule

A trip between San Remo and Genoa over 90 miles could take three days on muleback due to narrow, rugged mountain paths.

At the table

Cost of living for laborers

In the early 18th century, a laborer earned about 112 livres per year and spent over half of his income, 53 percent, on grain and bread.

The Great Northern War. Russia, Denmark and Saxony fought Sweden for the Baltic; Peter the Great won and built St Petersburg on the conquered coast.In Europe · 1700–1721

The Great Northern War. Russia, Denmark and Saxony fought Sweden for the Baltic; Peter the Great won and built St Petersburg on the conquered coast.

Imonoz · CC BY-SA 4.0

What people wore

Basic Attire of Ordinary People

Ordinary French men typically wore a simple shirt, a frac, breeches, stockings, and leather shoes. Ordinary women wore a shirt under a corset, a skirt, an apron, a fichu, and a bonnet.

Music

Teaching Dance via Written Notation

Dance masters used specialized choreographic notation created by Raoul Auger Feuillet to distribute and teach new dance steps between Paris and the provinces. By 1721, collections contained dozens of dances composed by masters like Pécour and Balon for the French court.

Daily life

Limited schooling for rural children

Many rural parishes lacked schools entirely, and for those that existed, instruction was often limited to basic reading, writing, and the catechism. It was common for the local parish priest to conduct classes, though schooling for girls was significantly rarer than for boys.