CHARLES VICTOR DE BONSTETTEN, Swiss writer, born (d: 1832); As a young man, the handsome Swiss author was one of those consciously unconscious charmers who could entice the birds from the trees, especially if those birds were middle-aged, unmarried men.

In maturity, Bonstetten’s best known work was a study of the influence of climate on different nations, the north being exalted at the expense of the south, of course. In his youth, Bonstetten’s most famous work was the job he did on the poet Thomas Gray (refer back to December 26)