Thiers, Louis Adolphe

Thiers, Louis Adolphe, << tyair, lwee a DAWLF >> (1797-1877), was the first president of the Third Republic of France. His 10-volume History of the French Revolution (1823-1827) made him famous. He helped place Louis Philippe on the throne of France.

Thiers’ political life included terms as foreign minister and president of the council. He also wrote a History of the Consulate and the Empire (1845-1862). Emerging from retirement in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War, he negotiated the peace treaty with Otto von Bismarck, Germany’s chancellor. Thiers then put down the revolt of the Paris Commune, and led the new republic until he resigned in 1873. He was born on April 18, 1797, in Marseille. He died on Sept. 3, 1877.