Jean Firmin Marbeau (1798 – October 10, 1875) was a French philanthropist who pioneered the crèche movement, a forerunner of modern day care.
Marbeau was born in Brive-la-Gaillarde, and was by profession a lawyer in Paris. [1] He is best known for founding the first crèche, which opened in Paris on November 14, 1844. [2] The crèche provided child care to enable working-class mothers to work jobs outside of the home, and spawned a Crèche Movement that led to a number of similar establishments being opened in France; the concept was also influential on the development of day care in North America. [3] Marbeau wrote a number of books promoting the concept, and died in Saint-Cloud in 1875. [1]