Jacques Népote
Ethnologist Jacques Népote (14 Jan 1943, St-Nazaire d’Aude, France — 26 Jan 2006, Roissy) discovered Cambodia when he was sent to Battambang as a volunteer for the French Cultural Cooperation Service. Three years later, he came back all the way from France by car and started a prolific academic and field research on Cambodian culture and society under the guidance of Bernard-Philippe Groslier, and in collaboration with David Chandler.
His studies on Cambodian royalty symbols (with his PhD thesis dealing with the Phnom Penh Royal Palace, and further monographies published with Prince Sisowath Ravivaddhana Monipong), parental lineage, gender roles and social fabric have become a reference for Western and Southeast Asian scholars.
In 1980, Jacques Népote re-launched Péninsule, a renowned review of Indochinese studies which he edited until his death in 1986.