French poet and dramatist, of Jewish extraction, and a brother of the famous composer, Jacques Fromental Halévy; born in Paris, in 1802; was educated at the Charlemagne Lyceum, where he became a proficient Greek scholar. Afterward he was a follower of Saint-Simon; assisted the latter in founding Le Producteur; issued the Poésies Européennes; wrote a Résumé de l’Histoire des Juifs; and in 1838 the Histoire Résumé de la Litterature Française; from 1831 to 1834 he was professor of French Literature at the École Royale Polytechnique; from 1838 to 1853 he was employed in the bureau of historic monuments in the department of Public Instruction. In 1855 he published the Fables Nouvelles, and in 1861 finished La Grèce Tragique. Besides, he wrote numerous poems, novels, tales, and translations from ancient and modern languages—Horace and Shakespeare being among his best efforts. His dramatic works cover a wide field. They include the tragedies Le Czar Demetrius, and Electra, the comedy Le Duel, and many dramas. He died at St. Germain-en-Laye on the 3rd of September 1883.
