Marie Franois Joseph Clozel was a French colonial administrator who became Governor General of French West Africa. Interested in understanding the region, he took an active part in developing French scientific research in West Africa in collaboration with the anthropologist Maurice Delafosse.
Franois Clozel was born onMarch 1860 in Annonay, in the Ardche department. He graduated with a diploma in Arabic from the School of Oriental Languages. He completed his military service in a regiment of Zouaves in Algeria. He participated in the mission of Casimir Maistre to the French Congo in 1892. He led an expedition in 189495 in the north of this country.
Source: Wikipedia