Cyrano de Bergerac, Savinien de, << SIHR uh `noh` duh BUR juh `rak,` sa vee NYAN duh >> (1619-1655), was a French author and soldier. He was also known for his skill in swordfighting and for his long nose. Edmond Rostand’s famous play Cyrano de Bergerac (1897) contains a somewhat fanciful account of Cyrano’s life.
Cyrano wrote a comedy, The Ridiculous Pedant (1653), and a tragedy, The Death of Agrippina (1654). But his most famous books are two science-fiction works published after his death, The States and Empires of the Moon (1657) and The States and Empires of the Sun (1662). A freethinker, Cyrano questioned traditional religious beliefs and the church’s authority. He also said matter is made up of atoms.
Cyrano was born on March 6, 1619, in Perigord. Twice wounded in battle, he left military life in 1642 to study science and literature in Paris. He died on July 28, 1655.
