Philippe Édouard Foucaux

Philippe Édouard Foucaux (15 September 1811 – 20 May 1894) was a French tibetologist. He published the first Tibetan grammar in French and occupied the first chair of Tibetan Studies in Europe.

Philippe Édouard Foucaux
Born	(1811-09-15)September 15, 1811 Paris, France
Died	May 20, 1894(1894-05-20) (aged 82)
Nationality	French
Occupation	Orientalist
Known for	First professor of Tibetan in Europe
Spouse	Mary Summer

He was born in the town of Angers on 15 September to merchant family. At the age of 27, he left for Paris to study Indology with Eugène Burnouf. After becoming aware of the work of Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, he studied Tibetan by himself for two years. After this he was appointed as a Tibetan teacher at the École des langues orientales where he gave his inaugural lecture on January 31, 1842.[1] Funding for the position was canceled but Foucaux continued to instruct his students thereafter on a pro bono basis. Some of his most well-known students include Léon Feer, William Woodville Rockhill, and Alexandra David-Néel.

Foucaux was a member of the Sociéte d'Ethnographie. After France became the Second Empire, Foucaux was elected as a member of the Collège de France. Foucaux was married to Mary Summer, born Marie Filon, who also did work as a buddhologist. He was a corresponding member of the American Oriental Society from 1865. A number of Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese manuscripts and printed books from his library were acquired by the National Library of France and are preserved there.[2]