Frdric Mistral was a French writer and lexicographer of the Occitan language. Mistral received the 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature in recognition of the fresh originality and true inspiration of his poetic production, which faithfully reflects the natural scenery and native spirit of his people, and, in addition, his significant work as a Provenal philologist. He was a founding member of Flibrige and a member of lAcadmie de Marseille.
Mistral was born in Maillane in the BouchesduRhne dpartement in southern France. He was the son of wealthy landed farmers , themselves very closely related to each other Marquis dAurel. Mistral was given the name Frederi in memory of a poor small fellow who, at the time when my parents were courting, sweetly ran their errands of love, and who died shortly afterward of sunstroke. Mistral did not begin school until he was about nine years, and quickly began to play hooky, leading his parents to send him to a boarding school in SaintMicheldeFrigolet, run by a Monsieur Donnat.
Source: Wikipedia