Bignon, Louis Pierre Édouard

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Louis Pierre Édouard Bignon (lwē pyĕr ādwär´ bēnyôN´), 1771–1841, French diplomat and historian. He held diplomatic posts under Napoleon, was acting minister of foreign affairs during the Hundred Days, and signed the surrender of Paris after Waterloo. A member of the chamber of deputies in the Restoration, he was (1830) foreign minister under Louis Philippe, who raised him to the peerage. His major historical work, Histoire de France sous Napoléon (14 vol., 1829–50; completed posthumously by A. A. Ernouf), was commissioned by Napoleon.