Full Name
Date of Birth
March 28, 1912
Date of Death January 22, 1978
Place of Birth
Cayenne, French Guiana, French Guiana
Place of Death
Washington, D.C., United States
Education
Spouse’s Name
- Not available
Known Affiliates Names
- Aimé Césaire (collaborator)
Affiliated Organizations’ Names
- Négritude movement (founder)
Major Events
- Négritude movement (co-founder)
Brief Biography
Léon-Gontran Damas, born on March 28, 1912, in Cayenne, French Guiana, was a French poet, politician, and one of the founders of the Négritude movement. He was born to Ernest Damas, a mulatto of European and African descent, and Bathilde Damas, a Metisse of Native American and African ancestry. In 1924, Damas was sent to Martinique to attend the Lycée Victor Schoelcher, where he met his lifelong friend and collaborator Aimé Césaire. Damas authored six collections of poetry, including Pigments (1937) and Névralgies (1966), and one collection of short stories, Veillées noires (1943). He also published three books of essays, including the ethnological study, Retour de Guyane (1938). Damas served in the French army during World War II and was later elected to the Chambre des Députés of the French National Assembly, serving from 1948 to 1951. He passed away on January 22, 1978, in Washington, D.C., United States[1][2][3][4][5].
Citations: [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9on_Damas [2] https://www.loc.gov/item/n82253217/leon-gontran-damas-french-guiana-1912-1978/ [3] https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/damas-leon-gontran-1912-1978/ [4] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leon-Damas [5] https://www.jstor.org/stable/44177206