Adolphe Thiers

Born in Marseille in 1797, Adolphe Thiers first made his name as a journalist and historian. His multivolume histories of the French Revolution and the Consulate and Empire won a wide readership and helped build his public reputation.

He entered politics during the July Monarchy and served more than once as prime minister. After France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, he became a leading figure in national government and in 1871 was chosen head of the executive power of the French Republic, later serving as the first president of the French Third Republic.

Thiers died in 1877. He remains a striking example of a writer who moved from interpreting history to making it, with a career that left a deep mark on 19th-century France.