Patrice Louis René Higonnet (born 3 February 1938) is a French author, historian, and retired professor who currently serves as a Robert Walton Goelet Research Professor of French History at Harvard University. He previously taught European history.
Higonnet was born in Saint Cloud, France. Higonnet's parents were René Alphonse Higonnet and Thérèse Higonnet (née David).
His first marriage was to Chicago-born Janet Marian King on May 26, 1958 in Manchester, New Hampshire. They had two children before divorcing: Anne and Philippe.
He married secondly Ethel Parmele Cardwell (1943-1973) on June 3, 1970 at Harvard. She was raped and murdered in Longfellow Park in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1973.
Higonnet subsequently married Ethel's sister, University of Connecticut professor Margaret Higonnet (née Cardwell) on August 13, 1974. They had a daughter named Edith.
Both Ethel and Margaret possess strong North American roots, descending from Alexander Scott Bullitt, Benjamin Logan, St. George Tucker, and William Logan. Their 3rd great-uncles were Congressmen Alexander Keith Marshall, Thomas Francis Marshall, and Edward C. Marshall. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln were close cousins.