Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron

Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron was the first professional French Indologist. 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. The library of the Institut français de Pondichéry is named after him. Through his translations he helped introduce Indian texts such as the Upanishads to the West.