Claude Sallier was a French ecclesiastic and philologist, as well as professor of Hebrew at the Collège royal

Collège de France

The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...

 and garde des manuscrits of the Bibliothèque du Roi.

France's first public library

Claude Sallier had an idea that was advanced for its era - to make culture accessible to all. From 1737 to 1750 he made books available to the town of Saulieu, forming France's first public library.

External links

• Académie française