HAUSSONVILLE, JOSEPH-OTHEINN-BERNARD DE CLÉRON, Count of. — French politician and writer, b. 27 May 1809 in Paris, d. there 27 May 1884. He entered the diplomatic service during the Orléanist monarchy, serving as secretary at the embassies in Brussels, Turin, and Naples.
A deputy from 1842 to 1848, he presented and supported various petitions on behalf of Protestants and declared himself in favor of the free exercise of their worship. Opposed to the Second Empire, he began a fruitful career as a writer. He published a *Histoire de la politique extérieure du gouvernement français de 1830-48* (Paris 1850), a *Histoire de la réunion de la Lorraine à la France* (ibid. 1854-59), and a work on *L'Église Romaine et le Premier Empire, 1800-14* (ibid. 1863-1870). A conservative republican, he was elected a life senator in 1878. He sat on the right, opposed the dissolution of religious associations, and supported the maintenance of the 1814 law against Sunday labor.