author
F.-A. (François-Alphonse) Aulard
1849–1928
A pioneering historian of the French Revolution, he helped turn revolutionary history into a serious academic field. His books are known for careful archival work and for challenging myths that had grown up around the period.
1 Audiobook
Les grands orateurs de la Révolution Mirabeau, Vergniaud, Danton, Robespierre
by F.-A. (François-Alphonse) Aulard
About the author
Born in Montbron, France, on July 19, 1849, François-Alphonse Aulard became one of the leading historians of the French Revolution. After earning his doctorate in 1877, he taught literature before shifting his focus to revolutionary history.
Aulard is widely remembered as the first holder of the chair of the history of the French Revolution at the Sorbonne, a post he took up in the 1880s. He was noted for applying strict historical criticism to the revolutionary era, and his work helped replace legend and partisan retelling with document-based scholarship.
He also played an important role in making the subject an established field of study in France. Aulard died in Paris on October 23, 1928, but his influence lasted through the generations of historians who followed him.