Olivetan, Robert

, a person of whose history little is known, was a relation of the celebrated Calvin, and the | first who translated the Bible into French, which he printed at Neufchatel, in 1535, fol. His translation is not very accurate, but it was improved in subsequent editions by Calvin, Beza, and others, and formed the foundation of what was called the Geneva translation. The edition of 1540, 4to, called “La Bible de l’Epee,” is very scarce, Olivetan died in 1538, in consequence, as some say, of having been poisoned at Rome. ¹