Joseph Joubert

Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) was born in Montignac in the Périgord region and died in Paris. He studied law and classical studies in Toulouse before moving to Paris in 1778. There he joined the circle around Denis Diderot and became a respected conversationalist among the leading intellectuals of his time. Joubert mainly recorded precise observations about people and ideas in letters and small notebooks. After his death, his widow gave these notes to François-René de Chateaubriand.