Adolphe Thiers
Politician & Historian
Historian
Thiers was known as one of the leading historians on the French Revolution. He published ten volumes of the History of the French Revolution. Although his works were immensely popular, they were also incredibly inaccurate. The books were marked by extreme prejudice and indifference toward the merits of his heroes.
Politician
Thiers was the first president of the Third Republic of France. He began as the undersecretary of state for the treasury and progressed as the minister of the interior and then the minister of trade and public works. Thiers was a notable representative of the Party of Resistance. He was very anti-rebellion and crushed several uprisings in his time. However, due to his support of an Egyptian pasha that nearly led to war, Thiers was forced to resign by King Louis-Philippe. He returned to the Assembly in 1848 and helped Louis-Napoleon become elected to the presidency of the Second Republic, but the two eventually grew apart. During the crisis of the Franco-Prussian War, Thiers initially favored war with Prussia, but he changed his views and when he turned out to be right about war being a bad idea, he was greatly admired for his wisdom. Finally, in August of 1871, Thiers was elected president of the Third Republic. He resigned in 1973 after being unable to win the loyalty of the monarchists. Thiers remained in minor politics until his sudden death in 1877.