List of Famous people born in France

Pierre François André Méchain was a French astronomer and surveyor who, with Charles Messier, was a major contributor to the early study of deep-sky objects and comets.

Henri Martin was a French historian, who was celebrated in his own day but whose modern reputation has been eclipsed by the greater literary and interpretive powers of his contemporary, the equally passionate patriot Jules Michelet, whose works have often been reprinted. After publishing a few novels, Martin devoted his life to the study of the history of France, writing Histoire de France, a formidable work in 13 volumes (1833-1836). He later brought the history down to 1789 in the 4th edition, and received from the Institut de France 20,000 francs as a prize in 1869. The Avenue Henri-Martin in Paris is named after him.

Jean Bourgoin (1913–1991) was a French cinematographer. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for the 1962 war film The Longest Day.