Paul Ricoeur was born on February 27, 1913 in Valence, France and died yesterday the 20th of May 2005 in Châtenay-Malabry, Hauts-de-Seine, France at 92 years of age.

his obit notice in Le Monde,
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3230,36- 652552@51-652432,0.html

for Ricoeur the orphaned child of slaughter of 1915 at the Marne, was intrinsically a "french philosopher" whose life and cultural background came to represent the intellectual self-identity of that country throughout its experiences in the last century.
And for many he was a "christian" philosopher as for others he was a "humanist". Certainly his work and intelectual importance is to be understood in the positions he took, in support of, and at times in opposition to the development of Sartre's existentialism, and the deconstructionism of Derrida. The links between the thought of the two is interesting, and has prompted this article today as part of the media commemorative package
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3232,36- 652561,0.html
and here is how the death of Derrida was reported here:-
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=6697 9

The French minister with responsibility for saying the right thing, when someone of more consequence and ability goes to.:. REST.:. Renaud Donnedieu de Vabre, described his contribution as "a reconciliation of ethics with politics".
Almost as if,... it were true.

Paul Ricoeur was mobilised in 1939 and in May 1940 imprisoned in Pomerania (former eastern Germany) in a POW camp where he stayed till 1945.

Paul Ricoeur’s first book, co-written with Mikel Dufrenne, "Karl Jaspers et la philosophie de l’existence", appeared in 1947.

And by 1948 he had secured teaching posts which brought him through the chairs of Philosophy at the Sorbonne and Nanterre and lots of books, and lots of thinking and lots of "big words". Words like phenomonology & hermeneutics and indeed he did more than chant them and became a bit of a "philosopher superstar dude" in his latter days meeting loads of important people like the Pope and Eurovision hopefuls.

http://www.philosophypages.com/dy/r9.htm#rico
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ricoeur/
http://dmoz.org/Society/Philosophy/Philosophers/R/ Ricoeur,_Paul/

here's the wiki.-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ricoeur

here's more death notices:-
http://news.tf1.fr/news/france/0,,3220759,00.html
http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=5&subid=587 &art_id=221310
http://permanent.nouvelobs.com/culture/20050521.FA P6266.html?1416
http://www.radiofrance.fr/divers/thematiques/radio dulivre/actualite/index.php?numero=165051543
http://actu.voila.fr/Depeche/ext--francais--ftmms- -culture/050521104543.1tn5ygah.html"