THIERS, Adolphe. French statesman and historian, b. at Marseilles on 18 April 1797, d. at Paris on 3 September 1877.
He studied law at Aix, then in 1821 began extensive journalistic activity in Paris, collaborating with the Globe and the Constitutionnel. With E. Manuel, J. Lafitte, C. M. Talleyrand and C. G. Étienne he initiated political opposition to the Bourbons. He achieved fame with his Histoire de la Révolution Française, published between 1823 and 1827. Opposition to Charles X intensified after T., at the end of 1829 and in collaboration with Mignet and Carrel, founded a newspaper, the National, which steered public opinion toward the Duc de Orléans. After the July Revolution of 1830, the National, following the revolution of 1830, appointed him prefect of Aix, with significant state duties and undersecretary of Finance, then Minister of the Interior in the cabinet of Marshal Soult.
He demonstrated great firmness in the arrest of the Duchess of Berry and in the repression of the social disturbances in Paris and Lyon in 1834. After the fall of Soult, he was again Minister of the Interior (1835) and President of the Council from February to September 1836.
He regained power in 1840, but failed to sustain, within the broader framework of a Mediterranean policy, the Egyptian Pasha Muhammad ‘Alī, a friend of France. An incomparable orator and rich in experience, he was instead more skilled in the opposition he conducted against Guizot from 1840 to 1848. After the February Revolution of 1848, he became the leader of the party of order, fought socialism, and did not oppose the candidacy of Louis Bonaparte; he greatly contributed to the decision to launch the military expedition against the Roman Republic. After the coup d’état he was arrested and exiled. Pardoned after a few months, he returned to France in 1852 and completed the Histoire du Consulat et de l’Empire (1845–1862), glorifying the founder of the Empire (in 1840 he had also arranged for Napoleon’s remains to be brought to Paris). Elected deputy for Paris in 1863 and 1869, he demanded the internal freedoms necessary for France and opposed Napoleon III’s foreign policy, which favored Italian unification. In 1870 he vainly opposed the Franco-Prussian War, and after the defeat he became head of the executive power and then President of the Republic, deploying all his expertise to conclude peace with Prussia, suppress the Paris Commune, and restore France’s finances, which enabled the withdrawal of Prussian troops before the scheduled date. A monarchist reaction forced his resignation on 24 May 1873; he died in 1877 when the Republic of Gambetta and Favre was already consolidated.
As a historian, T. is a master of precision in diplomatic, military, and financial details; thus the Histoire du Consulat et de l’Empire still retains its importance today, while he shows little interest in the history of ideas, religious conscience, or economics. His style is fluid and plain, but lacks originality and beauty. Considered the head of the “fatalist” historical school, he is classified by Fueter among the liberal continuators of Voltairean historiography.