Jean Francois Elysee Aviragnet, who was born in France on July 20, 1828, graduated from the Sobonne in 1847. In 1851, he began teaching French, Greek and Latin. In 1852, he received a degree corresponding to the Master of Arts degree. He went to Mauritius and became a teacher of Latin, Greek and the Romance Languages in Bourbon College. In 1865, Aviragnet became a professional musician. Before immigrating to the United States, he was a teacher of comparative languages at Bolivar College, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

After teaching music for one year in New York City, Aviragnet was engaged by a prominent Milton resident to teach music and the languages to daughters of several families. In 1887, Aviragnet became a teacher in the Female Institute. When a School of Music was created by the Bucknell trustees in 1890, Professor Aviragnet was appointed as its director. In 1893, he was awarded the Doctor of Music degree by Bucknell University. He was a member of the Music Teachers' Association of America and the Modern Language Association of America. He also was an instructor in Romance languages at the Mt. Gretna Chautauqua. Elysee Aviragnet died in 1908, still serving as the Director of the Bucknell School Of Music, and he is buried in the Lewisburg Cemetery.