Françoise Mayeur (1933–2006)

Françoise Mayeur, née Paolii, was born in Limoges, France.

She studied at the École normale supérieure in Sèvres, and as a doctoral student in literature became interested in the history of women and education in France in the 19th century.
Her 1976 thesis, L'enseignement secondaire des jeunes filles, 1867-1927 (The Secondary Education of Young Girls, 1867-1927), was a landmark work. She was the first historian in France to take an interest in this subject and to offer a detailed analysis of it.

This led her to publish her first book on the subject, L'enseignement secondaire des jeunes filles sous la Troisième République (The Secondary Education of Girls under the Third Republic) in 1977, as well as further works.

She became a professor at the University of Lille and then at the University of Paris Sorbonne-Paris IV.

She married Jean-Marie Mayeur and was the mother of Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen, both historians.