Rodolphe Reuss

Born in Strasbourg on October 13, 1841, and later dying in Versailles on August 16, 1924, Rodolphe Ernest Reuss was a French historian closely associated with Alsace. He was the son of the Protestant theologian Édouard Reuss, and he also wrote under the pseudonym Anton Schweidnitz.

Reuss studied in Strasbourg as well as at Jena, Berlin, and Göttingen. He worked as a teacher and later as a librarian in Strasbourg, where he played an important role in rebuilding and developing the city library after the Franco-Prussian War. In 1896 he moved to Versailles and joined the École pratique des hautes études, where he continued lecturing for many years.

He is best remembered for his historical writing on Alsace, including works that made the region’s political, cultural, and religious past accessible to a broad readership. His career reflects a lifelong commitment to scholarship, archives, and the careful preservation of regional memory.