Maurice Delafosse

Maurice Delafosse (20 December 1870 – 13 November 1926) was a French ethnographer and colonial official who also worked in the field of the languages of Africa.

He began his study of Arabic in 1890 at the École des langues orientales with the renowned orientalist, Octave Houdas.

He traveled to Algeria in 1891 with the Frères armés du Sahara, a Catholic organization concerned with combating the Trans-Saharan slave trade.

Shortly afterwards, he spent one year in the French military as a zouave, second class, before returning to his formal studies at the École des langues orientales.

After receiving his diploma, he was appointed as an assistant to Indigenous Affairs in the new French colony of Côte d'Ivoire.