François-René,
Vicomte de Chateaubriand (; ; September 4, 1768 – July 4, 1848) was a French writer,
politician, diplomat, and
historian, who is considered the founder of
Romanticism in
French literature. Descended from an old aristocratic family from
Brittany, Chateaubriand was a
royalist by political disposition; in an age when a number of intellectuals turned against the Church, he authored the
Génie du christianisme in defense of the
Catholic faith. His works include the autobiography
Mémoires d'outre-tombe ("Memoirs from Beyond the Grave'", published posthumously in 1849–1850).