The French playwright Pierre August Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799) was an outstanding dramatist of his day. His plays wittily satirized the privileged classes, the professions, and the court.

Beaumarchais was born Pierre August Caron in Paris on Jan. 24, 1732. His father, André Charles Caron, was a respected watchmaker. Pierre was the only boy among five adoring sisters and grew up lively, witty, and self-assured. Entering his father's profession, Pierre invented a mechanism which brought him the honor of becoming royal watchmaker to King Louis XV.

In 1755 Pierre made the acquaintance of Marie Madeleine Franquet, the wife of an elderly man who was clerk-comptroller in the royal household. Franquet was persuaded to yield his office to Pierre, and it was then Pierre's duty to escort the royal meat to table. So noble a calling prompted him to ennoble his name; it was at this time that he added the...