Mona Ozouf

Mona Ozouf (born Mona Annig Sohier 24 February 1931) is a French historian and philosopher. Born into a family of schoolteachers keen on preserving the language and the culture of Brittany, she graduated as a teacher of philosophy from the École normale supérieure de jeunes filles.

After teaching philosophy, she joined the CNRS as a historian. Her research and writings centre on the French Revolution and the French secular education system. Notable publications include L'École, l'Église et la République, 1871–1914 (1963) and La fête révolutionnaire, 1789–1799 (1976), the latter of which was published in English as Festivals and the French Revolution (1988).

Biography Born Mona Annig Sohier on 24 February 1931 at Lannilis, Finistère, she is the daughter of the schoolteachers (1901–1935) and Anne Le Den (1905–1996). In 1955, she married the historian Jacques Ozouf (1928–2006). After her father died when she was four years old, she was brought up by her mother and grandmother. She was rarely allowed outside the school in which her mother was headmistress except for regular visits to the village church with her grandmother. As a result, she became fascinated by literature and read all the books that she could find. the literary prize Prix mondial Cino Del Duca in 2007, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres also in 2007, and the Breton awards Order of the Ermine and Prix Breizh in 2009. The newly opened lycée at Ploërmel is named in her honour, and she was also honoured as a Commander of National Order of Merit (2011), Commander of the Legion of Honour (2014), the Prix de la langue française (2015), and Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit (2017).