Max Gallo (French: [maks ɡalo]; 7 January 1932 – 18 July 2017) was a French writer, historian and politician. He wrote over one hundred books. The son of Italian immigrants (his father was of Piedmontese descent and his mother was from the region of Parma), Gallo's early career was in journalism. At the time he was a Communist (until 1956). In 1974, he joined the Socialist Party. On 26 April 2007 the Académie Française recorded his candidacy for its Seat 24, formerly held by the late Jean-François Revel. He was elected to the Académie Française on 31 May 2007.