Jacques Gravier
French missionary (1651-1708)
Jacques Gravier, SJ (17 May 1651 – 17 April 1708) was a French Jesuit missionary in the New World. He founded the Illinois mission in 1696, where he ministered to the several tribes of the territory. He was notable for his compilation of the most extensive dictionary of Miami-Illinois among those made by French missionaries. In 1705 he was appointed superior of the mission and he died in 1708.
Early life and education
Gravier was born in 1651 in Moulins, Allier, France. He became well educated with the Jesuits, entering the Society of Jesus in the fall of 1670. He made his novitiate at Paris.
From 1672 to 1680, Gravier taught and tutored in the Jesuit schools of Hesdin, Eu, and Arras. He then studied philosophy at the Collège Louis-le-Grand in Paris (1678–79). After teaching for a time, he returned there for his studies in theology (1680–84).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Jacques Gravier” as french missionary (1651-1708). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as french missionary (1651-1708). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q3159032. VIAF identifies the subject as 39765454. The Library of Congress control number is n92053377. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1651, 1708, 1696 and 1705.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Jacques Gravier”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Jacques Gravier primary sources, Jacques Gravier archive and Jacques research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jacques Gravier”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Jacques Gravier” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.