Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron

Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron (7 December 1731-17 January 1805) was the first professional French scholar of Indian culture. He conceived the institutional framework for the new profession. He inspired the founding of the École française d'Extrême-Orient a century after his death and, later still, the founding of the Institut francais de Pondichéry.