Louis Payen (1640 – ?)

Louis Payen, originally from the Marne, was sent to Fort Dauphin, a trading post south of Madagascar, in 1656. He was the first Frenchman to land in Saint-Paul Bay in 1663, with a view to settling there. He was accompanied by ten Malagasy, including three women. Two years later, twenty French colonists led by Étienne Regnault disembarked on the isle of Bourbon. Louis Payen returned to Madagascar before finally returning to France in 1666.

Olivier Levasseur, known as “La Buse” (1689 – 1730)

Olivier Levasseur is probably the most famous of French pirates. Known as “La Buse”, he scoured the seas and ports of the Indian Ocean in search of Compagnie des Indes ships to pillage. In 1730, he was tried and convicted of plundering and burning several ships. He was hanged on July 7, 1730 in Saint-Paul. Today, his grave can be seen in the Saint-Paul marine cemetery, although it is not known where his body actually lies. Legend has it that he buried his treasure somewhere on the island. Today, some are still searching for it…

Mahé de la Bourdonnais (1699 – 1753)

Bertrand François Mahé de la Bourdonnais was appointed Governor General of the Mascarene Islands in 1733, after several feats of arms in the service of the East India Company, including the capture of Mahé in India in 1725. A controversial figure, he was responsible for the island’s unprecedented economic and military development and modernization.

Evariste de Parny (1753 – 1814)

Reunionese poet born in 1753 in Saint-Paul. The inventor of prose poetry, he was very popular in France at the time, notably for his best-known works “Poésies érotiques” and “Elégies”. He was elected to the Académie française in 1803, before dying in Paris at the age of 61. He is buried in Père-Lachaise.

Madame Desbassayns (1755 – 1846)

Madame Desbassayns and her husband, who died in 1800, were major landowners in the west of the island, growing mainly coffee and sugarcane with a workforce of over 400 slaves. Madame Desbassayns is one of the island’s most famous historical figures. A reputed torturer, she symbolized cruelty and wickedness in the collective imagination of a slave-owning era, to the point of being associated with the legend of “Grandma Kal” (see elsewhere). She died two years before the abolition of slavery.

Sarda Garriga (1808 – 1877)

In 1848, Sarda Garriga was appointed Commissioner General of the Republic on Reunion Island to implement the decree abolishing slavery. He landed on the island in October of that year, and two months later, on December 20, 1848, he proclaimed the abolition of slavery on Reunion Island. He remained Governor until 1850.

Célimène (1807-1864)

Although she had never attended school, Célimène was endowed with a keen intelligence, which she nurtured by socializing with a number of sugar-producing landlords. She soon became an elegant wordsmith, writing both prose and verse. This ability won her the admiration of travelers from Saint-Denis and Saint-Pierre, who never failed to stop at her inn, a stopover she ran with her husband at La Saline (west of the island). She entertains travelers by playing guitar and singing songs often based on her own poems. Even today, Célimène is a household name, serving as a symbol and muse for poetry and popular culture.

Hubert Delisle (1811 – 1881)

A native of Saint-Benoît, he left to pursue brilliant studies in France, where he was elected deputy before becoming Governor of Reunion in 1852. He was the first Reunionnese to govern the island. During his term of office, he developed the island’s infrastructure through major works. In just five years, he spurred economic, social and cultural development that would leave its mark on the island’s history.

Leconte de Lisle (1818-1894)

A native of Saint Paul, he is Reunion’s most famous poet. He spent most of his life in Paris, where he wrote his most famous poems: Poèmes Barbares, Poèmes Antiques and Poèmes Tragiques. Supported by Victor Hugo, he entered the Académie française in 1886, taking his place.

Edmond Albius (1829 – 1880)

In 1841, Edmond Albius, a slave in Sainte-Suzanne, discovered a manual process for artificially fertilizing vanilla that is now widely used around the world. By the end of the 19th century, this technique had made Réunion the world’s leading vanilla producer. His discovery was never attributed to him, and he died in general indifference in 1880, before being rehabilitated much later.

Juliette Dodu (1848-1909)

Juliette Dodu left Reunion Island at the age of 18 to settle in France with her mother. Employed in a telegraph office, she became a French heroine during the war with Prussia in 1870. Knowing Morse code, she intercepted Prussian messages and relayed them to the French army. She is said to have saved the lives of 10,000 soldiers.

Roland Garros (1888 – 1918)

An aviator, he was the first to cross the Mediterranean in 1913. He enlisted at the start of the First World War and was killed in aerial combat on October 5, 1918. You can see his statue on the Barachois in Saint-Denis. Réunion’s main airport also bears his name.

Danyèl Waro (1955-…)

Singer and musician, ambassador of Maloya, he has made this traditional music from La Réunion known the world over.