CORNEILLE, THOMAS (1625-1709), French dramatist, was born at Rouen on Aug. 20, 1625, being nearly 20 years younger than his brother, the great Corneille. At the age of 15 he com posed a play in Latin which was represented by his fellow-pupils at the Jesuits' college at Rouen. His first French play, Les En gagements du hasard, was acted in 1647. Le Feint Astrologue, imitated from the Spanish, and imitated by Dryden, came next year. At his brother's death he succeeded to his vacant chair in the Academy. A complete translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses (he had published six books with the Heroic Epistles some years previously) appeared in 1697. In 1704 he lost his sight and was constituted a "veteran," a dignity which preserved to him the privileges, while it exempted him from the duties, of an acade mician. Nevertheless in 1708 he produced a large Dictionnaire universel geographique et historique in three volumes folio. This was his last labour. He died at Les Andelys on Dec. 8, 1709, aged 84. The two Corneilles were strongly attached to one another, and practically lived in common. Of 42 plays by Thomas (this is the utmost number assigned to him) the last edition of his complete works contains only 32, but he wrote several in conjunction with other authors. Two are usually reprinted as his masterpieces at the end of his brother's selected works. These are Ariane (1672) and the Comte d'Essex.
See G. Reynier, Thomas Corneille, sa vie, ses ouvrages (1892) , and Alfred de Vigny, Fragments inedits de critique sur Pierre et Thomas Corneille (19o5) .