Sully Prudhomme Sully Prudhomme René François Armand (Sully) Prudhomme (; 16 March 1839 – 6 September 1907) was a French poet and essayist. He was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901. Born in Paris, Prudhomme originally studied to be an engineer, but turned to philosophy and later to poetry; he declared it as his intention to create scientific poetry for modern times. In character sincere and melancholic, he was linked to the Parnassus school, although, at the same time, his work displays characteristics of its own. Prudhomme was born to a French shopkeeper. Prudhomme attended the Lycée
Jean Mounet-Sully Jean Mounet-Sully Mounet-Sully (February 28, 1841 – 1916), a French actor, was born at Bergerac. His birth name was Jean-Sully Mounet: "Mounet-Sully" (without the "Jean") was a stage name. He entered the Conservatoire at the age of twenty-one, where he took first prize for tragedy. In 1868 he made his debut at the Odéon without attracting much attention. His career was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War, and his passion for his military career had almost convinced him to give up the stage, until he was offered the opportunity to play the part of Oreste in Racine's "Andromaque" at the Comédie