SEGESSER, PHILIPP ANTON. - Swiss statesman, b. at Lucerne on 5 April 1817, d. there on 30 June 1888. In 1851 he was a member of the Grand Council of Lucerne; in the years 1863-67 and 1871-88, a member of the government.
After the failure in 1847 of the Sonderbund (political union of Swiss Catholics), which he had advised against, S. became for a long time the leader of the conservative Catholics of Switzerland, a steadfast opponent of the liberal State of 1848 and an advocate of the federalist and Catholic order. He also became renowned for his works on the history of his country, adhering to the historical school of law.
Writings: Rechtsgeschichte der Stadt und Republik Luzern (4 vols., Lucerne 1851-58); L. Pfiffer und seine Zeit (3 vols., Berne 1880-82); Gesammelte kleine Schriften (4 vols., 1877-87). He edited the Eidgenössische Abschiede 1245-1520 (3 vols., Basle 1858-69).