CYRANO de BERGERAC
March 6, 1619 - July 28, 1655

"A large nose is the mark of a witty, courteous, affable,
generous and liberal man."

~ Educated by a priest in the village of Bergerac, he was later sent to the Collège de Beauvais. 

~ Cyrano had an exceptionally large nose, and children his age tortured him mercilessly. He took up dueling to vent his pent-up anger.

~ After acquiring fame as a dueler, he enlisted in the army at the age of 20. He had problems adjusting to discipline, and wound up fighting over a thousand duels during his military service.

~ Cyrano was severely wounded twice: at a fight with a Gascon Guard and at the siege of Arras in 1640. There, a sword hit him in the neck, and he never fully recovered from the wound. 

~ The following year he gave up his military career and started to study under the philosopher and mathematician Pierre Gassendi. Influenced by Gassendi's theories and libertine philosophy, he began to write stories. 

~ He wrote philosophical romances, comedies, tragedies and two books of science-fiction. 

~ At the age of 46, Cyrano de Bergerac died in Paris when a plank dropped on his head. 

~ His most prominent works, Voyage Dans la Lune and L'Histoire des Etats et Empires dy Soleil are now published under the title Other Worlds, a collection of stories describing his fictional journeys to the Moon and Sun.

~ It is assumed the third volume in the series Histoire Comique (The History of the Stars) is either lost or has been destroyed. 

~ In 1897 French poet Edmond Rostand published a play about Cyrano's life. Cyrano de Bergerac focused on Cyrano's love for the beautiful Roxanne, whom he wooed on behalf of a less articulate friend.

~ History shows Rostand's portrayal of the hero is not based on fact. Cyrano was a serious writer and a virile lover.

~ One of the best interpretations of the play Cyrano de Bergerac was produced by Columbia Pictures in 1987. The film, Roxanne, was written by and starred comedian Steve Martin as a modern-day Cyrano.