CLAUDE, JEAN (1619-1687), an eminent French Protestant divine, was born at Sauvetat near Agen, where his father was a Protestant minister. He held for eight years the office of professor of theology in the Protestant college of Nismes; and after he was compelled to abandon his chair, he still maintained his ground on the field of controversy by his able replies to Bossuet, Arnauld, Nicole, and others. On the revocation of the edict of Nantes he fled to Holland, where he was pensioned by the Prince of Orange. He continued to preach occasionally at the Hague till his death. His principal works are the Réponse au Traité de la perpétuité de la Foi sur l'Eucharistie, 2 vols. 8vo; Défense de la Réformation, ou Réponse aux Préjugés légitimes de Nicole; and Plaintes des Protestans cruellement opprimés dans le Royaume de France.