Oswald Durand, the most quoted poet Haiti has, is born at Cap-Haïtien

Charles Alexis Oswald Durand was born at Cap-Haïtien on 17 September 1840, son of Louis Dolcé Durand and Aricie de Vastey. The earthquake of 1842 killed his mother before he was two, and he was raised at Ouanaminthe. He worked as a tinsmith at sixteen and began teaching at the Cap-Haïtien lycée in 1860. In 1883 he wrote “Choucoune”, still the best-known poem in the country, and the one Haitians quote without needing the book.