François Le Lionnais

François Le Lionnais (1901-1984) was born in Paris and passed away in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, at the age of 82. He was a chemist, mathematician, and a skilled chess player, as well as a co-founder, along with Raymond Queneau, of OuLiPo. In 1944, he was arrested for his resistance activities and deported to the Nazi Dora concentration camp, an experience he documented in his testimony "La peinture à Dora" ("Painting in Dora," introduction-translation by Eleni Kosma, "Eneken" magazine, issue 27, January-March 2013). In 1946, he founded the Association of Scientific Writers and in 1960, the Workshop of Experimental Literature (Atelier de Littérature Expérimentale), which was renamed the following year to the Workshop of Potential Literature (Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle or OuLiPo). He published numerous books, including "Les Grands courants de la pensée mathématique," 1948, "Le Temps," 1959, "Dictionnaire des Mathématiques," 1979, among others.