 nicolas-louis franÃ§ois de neufchÃ¢teau (; 17 april 1750 â 10 january 1828) was a french statesman, poet, and scientist. ==biography== ===early years=== born at saffais, in meurthe-et-moselle, the son of a schoolteacher, he studied at the jesuit college of neufchÃ¢teau in the vosges, and at the age of fourteen published a volume of poetry which obtained the interest of jean-jacques rousseau and of voltaire. neufchÃ¢teau conferred on him its name, and he was elected member of some of the main academies of france. in 1783 he was named procureur-gÃ©nÃ©ral to the council of saint domingue. he had previously been engaged on a translation of ariosto, which he finished before his return to france five years afterwards, but it was destroyed during the shipwreck which occurred during his voyage home. ===revolution=== after the french revolution, neufchÃ¢teau was elected deputy supplant to the national assembly, charged with the organization of the dÃ©partement of the vosges, and elected later to the legislative assembly, of which he first became secretary and then president. in 1793 he was imprisoned on account of his supposed political sentiments - as they were deduced from his drama pamÃ©la ou la vertu rÃ©compensÃ©e (thÃ©Ã¢tre de la nation, 1 august 1793), but was set free a few days afterwards with the start of the thermidorian reaction. ===directory and napoleon=== in 1797, he became minister of the interior, distinguishing himself by his thorough administration. it is neufchÃ¢teau who initiated the french system of inland navigation. he inaugurated the museum of the louvre and was one of the promoters of the first universal exhibition of industrial products. he replaced lazare carnot as a member of the french directory, a position he held between 8 september 1797, and 20 may 1798. from 1804 to 1806 he was president of the sÃ©nat conservateur, coinciding with the establishment of the first empire â his office implied that he was the one to solicit napoleon bonaparte to assume the title of emperor. in 1803, he was admitted to the acadÃ©mie franÃ§aise, and in 1808 he received the dignity of count. retiring from public life in 1814, after the bourbon restoration, he occupied himself chiefly with the study of agriculture until his death. ==works== neufchÃ¢teau had multiple accomplishments, and interested himself in a great variety of subjects, but his fame rests most
1750_births 1828_deaths Burials_at_PA"re_Lachaise_Cemetery Counts_of_the_First_French_Empire Directeurs_of_the_First_French_Republic French_agronomists French_biographers French_dramatists_and_playwrights French_economists French_essayists French_interior_ministers French_lawyers French_literary_critics French_poets French_translators Grand_Officiers_of_the_LA(c)gion_d\'honneur Members_of_the_AcadA(c)mie_franASSaise People_from_Meurthe-et-Moselle