ALCAN, ALKAN

ALCAN, ALKAN, name of several French families, possibly deriving from Elkanah: alphonse alkan (1809–1889), Parisian printer, bibliographer, and author of works on printing and illustration. MICHEL ALCAN (1811–1877), politician, engineer, and author of works on textile technology. He was born in Donnelay and afterward lived in Paris. He took an active part in the 1830 and 1848 revolutions in France, and was elected to the National Assembly, where he sided with the left wing (the Mountain). MOŸSE ALCAN (1817–1869), publisher and poet. He lived in Metz, where he was a member of the Jewish consistory. FÉLIX (1841–1925), Moÿse's son, was a publisher and scholar. He lectured on mathematics before entering the publishing business of his father in Metz. He later founded his own firm in Paris, which from 1880 specialized in producing textbooks, mainly on philosophy.