Émile Bourgeois

Born in Paris on July 24, 1857, and later dying in Versailles on August 25, 1934, Émile Bourgeois was a French historian known especially for his study of the seventeenth century. He was educated at the École Normale Supérieure and built his career around teaching and research in modern history.

He became maître de conférence at the École Normale Supérieure in 1895, then left that post in 1904 for a professorship in history at the Sorbonne, where he remained until retiring in 1921. His scholarship focused in particular on international relations and political history, giving his books a broad European scope.

Bourgeois also contributed to larger reference works, including The Cambridge Modern History, which helped bring his expertise to a wider readership. For listeners interested in French history, his writing offers the perspective of a careful scholar deeply engaged with statecraft, diplomacy, and the long seventeenth century.