Anténor Firmin

Anténor Firmin
Minister of Finance, Commerce and Foreign Affairs
In office December 17, 1896 – July 26, 1897
President	Tiresias Simon Sam
Preceded by	Callisthènes Fouchard (Finance and Commerce) Pourcely Faine (Foreign Affairs)
Succeeded by	Solon Ménos
In office October 29, 1889 – May 3, 1891
President	Florvil Hyppolite
Preceded by	Saint-Martin Dupuy (Finance and Commerce) Himself (Foreign Affairs)
Succeeded by	Hugon Lechaud
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Worship
In office August 22, 1889 – October 29, 1889
President	Florvil Hyppolite
Preceded by	Saint-Martin Dupuy (Foreign Affairs) Néré Numa (Agriculture) Maximillien Laforest (Worship)
Succeeded by	Himself (Foreign Affairs) Clément Haentjens (Agriculture) Léger Cauvin (Worship)
Member of the provisional Government of the Republic of Haiti
In office August 22, 1889 – October 9, 1889
Personal details
Born	Joseph Auguste Anténor Firmin 18 October 1850(1850-10-18) Cap-Haïtien,  Haiti
Died	19 September 1911(1911-09-19) (aged 60) Saint Thomas, DWI
Nationality	Haitian
Political party	Parti libéral
Spouse(s)	Marie Louise Victoria Rosa Salnave
Children	Anne-Marie Firmin Georges Anténor Firmin
Profession	Lawyer, Journalist and Politician

Joseph Auguste Anténor Firmin (18 October 1850 – 19 September 1911), better known as simply Anténor Firmin, was a Haitian anthropologist, journalist, and politician. Firmin is best known for his book De l'Égalité des Races Humaines (English: On the Equality of Human Races), which was published as a rebuttal to French writer Count Arthur de Gobineau's work Essai sur l'inegalite des Races Humaines (English: Essay on the Inequality of Human Races). Gobineau's book asserted the superiority of the Aryan race and the inferiority of blacks and other people of color.

Firmin's work, first published in 1885, argued the opposite, that "all men are endowed with the same qualities and the same faults, without distinction of color or anatomical form. The races are equal" (pp. 450). He was marginalized at the time for his beliefs that all human races were equal.^[1]

Firmin pioneered the integration of race and physical anthropology and may be the first black anthropologist. His work was recognized not only in Haiti but also among scholars of Africans as an early work of négritude. He had an impact on Jean Price-Mars, the founder of Haitian ethnology and on American anthropologist Melville Herskovits.^[2]

Born in Cap-Haïtien, Firmin worked in teaching, politics, and diplomacy. He founded Le Messager du Nord, a political and literary publication.

Selected works

• De l'Égalité des Races Humaines - published 1885
• Haïti et la France - published 1891
• Une Défense - published 1892
• Diplomate et Diplomatie - published 1898
• M. Roosevelt, Président des États-Unis et la République d'Haïti - published 1905
• Lettres de Saint-Thomas - published 1910

Notes

References

• Schutt-Ainé, Patricia; Staff of Librairie Au Service de la Culture (1994). Haiti: A Basic Reference Book. Miami, Florida: Librairie Au Service de la Culture. p. 95. ISBN 0-9638599-0-0. 

External links

• Une Défense in the Digital Library of the Caribbean
• M. Roosevelt, Président des Etats-Unis et la République d'Haïti in the Digital Library of the Caribbean
• Anténor Firmin (French)

This article about a Haitian writer, poet or playwright is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v d e

This article about a Haitian politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v d e