Paul Valery

Classified as a polymath, or one who knows quite a bit about different subjects, Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint_Jules Valery was born on October 30, 1871 in a town on the Mediterranean coast. He had a traditional Roman Catholic education and studied law at the university. Valery wrote poetry, fiction, aphorisms on art and history plus letters, music and current events. Valery married Jeannie Gobillard who was a niece of Berthe Morisot. Valery and Jeannie had three children: Francois, Agthe, and Claude.
Valery became a full time writer in 1920 when his boss Edouard Lebey died of Parkinson's disease. In 1925 Valery was a public speaker and intellectual figure in French society. He toured Europe and gave lectures on cultural and social issues. He represented France on cultural matters and served on many committees for the League of Nations. The Outlook for Intelligence 1989 is Valery's translations of essays from his activities.
He funded the College International de Cannes in 1931. The college operates today and offers courses for native speakers to pass certification for law and business.
Valery stopped writing for 20 years and his La Jeune Parque took him four years to finish. His fame was secured with this 512 alexandrine rhyming couplet poem. It is still considered one of the longest and greatest French poems of the twentieth century.
His greatest achievement is his intellectual diary called Cahiers (Notebooks). Every morning he wrote something to this notebook. The subjects were reflection social science and mathematics. He also wrote down aphorisms (or true and wise ideas) later included in his writings.