Thiers, Louis Adolphe

te-er', Louis Adolphe (1797-1877), a distinguished French statesman and historian. His father was a locksmith of Marseilles. The young Louis was educated for the law but took to literature. In 1821 we find him in Paris contributing literary and political articles to the newspapers. His politics were liberal in cast. In 1823-27 he wrote a ten-volume History of the French Revolution. It became immensely popular. Carlyle, who had himself written a history of this period, and who thought Thiers had not gone to the bottom of the matter, said of him, "Thiers is a brisk man in his way and will tell you much if you know nothing," and again, "The history is as far as possible from meriting its high reputation." A twenty-volume continuation he termed A History of the First Consulate and the Empire. On the downfall of Napoleon III in 1871, Thiers was made the head executive of the new French Republic and was later elected president. It fell to his part to negotiate the treaty of peace with the Germans. He went to Versailles to William and his advisers. It is said that tears poured down his face, because he could not induce Bismarck to forego Alsace-Lorraine, even at the offer of a fabulous ransom. Thiers is recognized universally as a man of gifts, statesmanship, and patriotism. See Alsace-Lorraine; Versailles; French Revolution; Franco-Prussian War; Napoleon Iii