Henri Charrière
Born in 1906
Henri Charrière was a French writer born in 1906 and died in 1973.
He gained fame for his memoir Papillon, which recounts his alleged experiences as a prisoner in French Guiana.
Charrière claimed to have been wrongly convicted of murder in 1931 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
His book, published in 1969, became an international bestseller, detailing his numerous escape attempts and eventual success.
While Charrière maintained that most of Papillon was true, modern researchers believe much of the material came from other inmates' experiences rather than his own.
Despite controversies surrounding its authenticity, the book remains a compelling tale of survival and the human spirit.
