Births on April 1

Joseph de Maistre

Born on April 1, 1753

Joseph de Maistre, French philosopher, lawyer, and diplomat (d. 1821)

Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (French: [də mɛstʁ]; 1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer and diplomat who advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immediately following the French Revolution. Despite his close personal and intellectual ties with France, Maistre was throughout his life a subject of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which he served as a member of the Savoy Senate (1787–1792), ambassador to Russia (1803–1817) and minister of state to the court in Turin (1817–1821).A key figure of the Counter-Enlightenment, Maistre regarded monarchy both as a divinely sanctioned institution and as the only stable form of government. He called for the restoration of the House of Bourbon to the throne of France and for the ultimate authority of the Pope in temporal matters. Maistre argued that the rationalist rejection of Christianity was directly responsible for the disorder and bloodshed which followed the French Revolution of 1789.

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Joseph de Maistre

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Events on 1753

17 Feb

Gregorian calendar
In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
1 May

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.