Gustave Flourens
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Gustave Flourens (Paris, August 4, 1838 – April 3, 1871) was a French Revolutionary leader and writer, son of the physiologist Jean Pierre Flourens. Professor at the Collège de France at 25 years old, he was deputy in 1838-1839. He is also the elder brother of Emile Flourens, who became minister of foreign affairs under the Third Republic.
Gustave Flourens undertook in 1863, on behalf of his father, a course of lectures at the Collège de France, on the subject of the history of mankind. His theories as to the manifold origin of the human race gave offence to the clergy, and he was prevented from delivering further lectures. He then went to Brussels, where he published his lectures under the title of Histoire de l’homme (1863). Gustave Flourens then visited Constantinople and Athens and took part in the Cretan insurrection of 1866, where he became Cretan deputy at the Greek Parliament. He attempted to convince enlightened people, such as Victor Hugo (whom had failed to enter the Académie Française because Jean Pierre Flourens had been chosen at his place), to support the Cretan insurrection. Gustave Flourens then spent some time in Italy, where an article of his in the Fe polo d'Italia caused his arrest and imprisonment, and finally, having returned to France, nearly lost his life in a duel with Paul de Cassagnac, editor of the Pays.
In Paris he devoted his time to the cause of "red republicanism", and at length, having failed in an attempt to organize a revolution at Belleville on February 7, 1870, was compelled to flee from France. Returning to Paris on the downfall of Napoleon, he placed himself at the head of a body of 500 tirailleurs (sharpshooters). Because of his insurrectionary proceedings (he was one of the organizers of the October 31, 1870 riot against the provisional government's moderate policy) he was taken prisoner at Créteil, near Vincennes, by the provisional government, and confined at Mazas on December 7, 1870, but was released by his men on the night of January 21-22. On March 18 he joined the population's uprising, was elected a member of the revolutionary Commune by the XXe arrondissement, and was named general. Gustave Flourens was one of the most active leaders of the insurrection, and in a sortie against the Versailles troops in the morning of 3 April was killed in hand-to-hand conflict with Captain Desmarets (who later become "peace judge" (juge de paix) in La Garnache in the Vendée region and was a protegee of the count of Baudry d'Asson), at Rueil , near Malmaison. Besides his Science de l'homme (Paris, 1869), he was also the author of numerous fugitive pamphlets.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- C. Prolès, Les Hommes de la revolution de 1871 (Paris, 1898).
