Anténor Firmin
Anténor Firmin | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Finance, Commerce and Foreign Affairs | |
| In office December 17, 1896 – July 26, 1897 | |
| President | Tirésias 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 October 18, 1850 |
| Died | September 19, 1911 (aged 60) |
| Party | Parti libéral |
| Spouse | Marie Louise Victoria Rosa Salnave |
| Children | Anne-Marie Firmin Georges Anténor Firmin |
| Profession | Anthropologist, Egyptologist, Politician and Journalist |
Joseph Auguste Anténor Firmin (18 October 1850 – 19 September 1911), better known as Anténor Firmin, was a Haitian barrister and philosopher, pioneering anthropologist, journalist, and politician. Firmin is best known for his book De l'égalité des races humaines (English: "The Equality of the Human Races"), which was published in 1885 as a rebuttal to French writer Count Arthur de Gobineau's work Essai sur l'inégalité 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 book 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". He was marginalized at the time for his beliefs that all human races were equal.