comte de Agénor Gasparin

Born in Orange, France, on July 12, 1810, Agénor Étienne, comte de Gasparin came from a prominent political family and was educated in Paris. He served in public office during the July Monarchy, including work in the Council of State and as a deputy for Corsica, before breaking with the government over questions of principle.

Gasparin is remembered as a Protestant thinker and reform-minded author who spoke out for religious liberty, prison reform, and the abolition of slavery. After 1848 he lived much of his later life in Switzerland with his wife, Valérie de Gasparin, and continued to write extensively on religion, politics, and social questions.

He also became known for investigating the mid-19th-century phenomenon of table-turning, treating it as something to be tested rather than simply dismissed. That mix of moral seriousness, curiosity, and willingness to engage controversial ideas helps explain why his work still stands out today.