Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Joseph Bologne was born on 25 December 1745 in Baillif, on Basse-Terre in the French colony of Guadeloupe. His father, Georges de Bologne Saint-Georges, was a wealthy planter, and his mother, Nanon, was an enslaved woman of Senegalese origin who served in the household. His father acknowledged him and gave him his name, and took him and Nanon to France when he was a child, where they were considered free.

At 13 Joseph was enrolled in a fencing academy run by the master La Boëssière and became one of the finest fencers in Europe. When he graduated in 1766 he was made a gendarme of the king's bodyguard and a chevalier, taking the name by which he is remembered, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

In 1769 the Paris public was amazed to see the great fencer playing violin in François-Joseph Gossec's new orchestra, Le Concert des Amateurs, and four years later he became its conductor. He made his debut as a soloist in 1772 with his first two violin concertos, and went on to write string quartets, violin concertos, symphonies concertantes, sonatas and opéras comiques, becoming the first classical composer of African ancestry to receive widespread critical acclaim.

His career met racism. In 1776 he was proposed as the next director of the Paris Opera but was denied the post when some of the performers objected to being led by a person of colour. He continued to compose and conduct, joined the orchestra Le Concert de la Loge Olympique, and performed for Queen Marie Antoinette.

During the French Revolution, Saint-Georges joined the National Guard and in 1792 was made colonel of the Légion Saint-Georges, the first all-Black regiment in Europe, with Thomas-Alexandre Dumas as his second in command. He was accused of misconduct and imprisoned, but cleared his name. He died in Paris in June 1799. He has been called the Black Mozart, and his life was the subject of the 2022 film Chevalier.