research by Charlie London

Vignaud Street is a one block street that runs
between Grand Route Saint John and Ponce de Leon.

Henry Vignaud (1830-1922)
Henry Vignaud was a journalist, diplomat, and historian. He was born and educated in New Orleans. His career as a journalist commenced with articles for the newspapers of New Orleans. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he became a captain in the 6th Louisiana Regiment but was imprisoned in 1862, when New Orleans was captured by the Union Army. He escaped, went to Paris, and never returned to the United States.

In Paris, Vignaud entered the service of the Confederate mission under John Slidell. In 1869, he was appointed to a secretaryship in the Roumanian legation at Paris. On December 14, 1875, he was appointed second secretary of the United States legation in Paris, and on April 11, 1885, was promoted to be first secretary. For thirty-four years, he was an indensable member of the Paris mission, frequently acting as chargé d’affaires, and serving always with distinction.

Vignaud’s distinction was achieved after the age of seventy. His special interest in Columbus grew out of his close association with Henry Harrisse and with the Peruvian scholar Manuel Gonzalez de la Rosa, and the publications of the Columbian anniversary in 1892. He published several works on Columbus and European exploration during the 15th and 16th centuries, including: La Lettre et la Carte de Toscanelli (1901), Toscanelli and Columbus (1902), Études critiques sur la vie de Colomb avant ses découvertes (1905), Histoire critique de la grande entreprise de Christophe Colomb (2 vols., 1911), Améric Vespuce, 1451-1512 (1917), and Christophe Colomb et la Légende (1921).

Vignaud also displayed a broad interest in the whole range of studies of aboriginal America and of the earliest European contacts with the new world. His work was recognized by the award of numerous honors and prizes, and by election as a foreign corresponding member of the Institut de France.

Vignaud’s library of many thousand books, pamphlets, and maps now resides at the University of Michigan.

Vignaud’s work also includes an unfinished history of cartography in approximately 650,000 words.

Biographical note has been excerpted from Dictionary of American Biography (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1936), s.v. “Vignaud, Henry”

Link to article above:
http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.vignaud

1863 vignaud1863jan29 Written in french. I am not fluent in french but I believe the article says Mr. Vignaud occcupies a place of distinction in Louisiana literary circles. Anyone care to translate?

1876 vignaud1876feb20 Vignaud mentioned at the end of “Glimpses of Life in Paris” article.

1895 vignaud1895sep07 No Disagreement between U.S. and French Governments

1895 vignaud1895dec20 U.S would gain Canada in war with Britain

1895 vignaud1895dec20a

1895 vignaud1895dec21 “Our difficulties with France have always been easily settled.”

1899 vignaud1899july13

1900 Click here to view “A French Tribute to the Distiguished Orleanian” article in the February 25, 1900 issue of the Times Picayune.

1901 vignaud1901jul28 “American Tourists Have Their Troubles in Paris”

1901 vignaud1901sep30 “Columbus Knew, says Henry Vignaud”

1903 Click here to view “Henry Vignaud Argues Against Authenticity of Work” article in the January 12, 1903 issue of the Baltimore American.

1903 vignaud1903apr20 “Henry Vignaud Has Ended Controversy”

1903 vignaud1903apr20a “Vignaud Closes Controversy”

1903 vignaud1903sep07 “Henry Vignaud Replies to Dr. Ruge”

1904 vignaud1904mar24 “Was Columbus a Boastful Liar?”

1905 vignaud1905feb28 “True Family of Columbus”

1905 vignaud1905apr09 “Columbus Was a Humbug”

1906 vignaud1906feb22-napoleon Napoleon’s Tomb

1906 vignaud1906oct24 “Try to Suppress White Slave Trade”

1906 vignaud1906oct24-whiteslaves Vignaud Represents U.S. Against White Slavery

1907 vignaud1907june23 “Bones of Columbus Found at Last”

1907 vignaud1907aug04 U.S. Gives Statue of Lafayette to France

1908 Click here to view “Henry Vignaud to Receive Highest Literary Honor France Can Bestow” article in the January 12,1908 issue of the South Carolina State.

1909 Click here to view Henry Vignaud Resigns at 79 article in the February 16, 1909 issue of the Grand Forks Herald.

1909 vignaud1909feb16a Resigns

1909 vignaud1909feb16b Resigns

1909 vignaud1909feb18 Will Spend Last Days in France

1909 vignaud1909feb26 20 Prominent Americans Fund Retirement

1909 vignaud1909mar06 “University to Honor Vignaud”

1909 vignaud1909mar16 “Honorary Degree Conferred by Tulane”

1909 vignaud1909may14 “Vignaud is Honored”

1909 vignaud1909may23 “Henry Vignaud, American”

1909 vignaud1909july18 “The Secret of Columbus, Has Vignaud Learned It?”

1909 vignaud1909nov06 “VIGNAUD CASE IS STRONG PLEA FOR FEDERAL PENSIONS”

1909 Click here to view “Henry Vignaud’s Opposition to Canonization of Columbus Wins Him Title” article in the November 21, 1909 issue of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

1911 vignaud1911mar03

1911 Click here to view “Henry Vignaud, After Fifty Years of Research, Issues Historical Work in Which Famous Explorer is Branded as Imposter and Humbug” article in the March 21, 1911 issue of the Ohio Plain Dealer.

1911 vignaud1911mar21a

1911 vignaud1911mar21b

1911 vignaud1911apr02 “SAYS COLUMBUS WAS A FAKER LIKE DR. COOK”

1911 vignaud1911apr11 “CALLS COLUMBUS A FOURFLUSHER”

1912 vignaud1912feb07 “Madrazo Painting Vignaud”

1912 Click here to view “Prince of Americanists” article in the October 27, 1912 issue of the Times Picayune.

1921 vignaud1921apr19 “Raps Columbus”

1922 vignaud1922feb09 “Henry Vignaud Praised” will write about Alcee Fortier

1922 vignaud1922sep19 Vignaud passes away

1922 vignaud1922sep19a “Henry Vignaud Dies”

1922 vignaud1922sep27 Letter to the editor about Henry Vignaud

1928 vignaud1928sep09 Henry Vignaud mentioned in “French City Dedicates Monument…” article

1948 vignaud1948oct10 “Experts See Double Over Columbus Ghost”

1948 vignaud1948oct10a “Experts Now Agree on Columbus Birthdate

1976 vignaud1976oct12 “Rare Columbus book visiting here”