Charles Gayarre, an American historian, born in Louisiana, Jan. 9, 1805. He was educated at the college of New Orleans. In 1825, the draft of a criminal code having been laid before the state legislature by Edward Livingston, Gayarre published a pamphlet in which some of its provisions were ably canvassed. He studied law at Philadelphia, was admitted to the bar in 1829, and returned to New Orleans. An Essai Historique sur la Louisianae (2 vols. 12mo), which he published at that time, attracted attention, and he was soon elected to the state legislature. The next year he was appointed deputy attorney general of the state, and in 1833 presiding judge of the city court of New Orleans. In 1835 he was elected to the United States senate, but impaired health prevented his taking his seat, and he went to Europe, where he remained for nearly eight years. In 1844 he again entered the state legislature, and was reelected in 1846. He was appointed secretary of state, and retained the office for seven years, after which he retired from public life.

His historical works comprise the Histoire de la Louisiane (2 vols. 8vo, New Orleans, 1847);Romance of the History of Louisiana" (12mo, New York, 1848);Louisiana, its Colonial History and Romance (8vo, New York, 1851); Louisiana, its History as a French Colony ' (2 vols. 8vo, New York, 1851-2); and "History of the Spanish Domination in Louisiana, from 1769 to December, 1803 (New York, 1854). He is the author of "Philip II. of Spain," a biography (New York, 1866), and of a novel, "Fernando de Lernos, Truth and Fiction" (1872), which is to be followed by a sequel entitled "Aubert Dubayet." He has also published a drama, The School for Politics," and several literary and political addresses, among which are two lectures on The Influence of the Mechanic Arts."