Lavisse, Ernest

Lavisse, Ernest (1842-1922), French historian best known for his work in editing a monumental two-volume history of France. Born in the northern French village of Le Nouvrion-en-Thiérache, Lavisse was educated in Paris at the Lycée Charlemagne and the École Normale Supérieure. In 1868 he assumed the post of secretary to French historian Victor Duruy and later became private tutor to the prince imperial, son of Napoleon III. After France’s defeat by the German states in the Franco-Prussian War, Lavisse left for Germany to study with historian Georg Waitz and other German scholars of the modern school of history founded by Leopold von Ranke.

Upon returning from Germany, Lavisse taught successively at the Lycée Henri IV, the École Normale, and the Sorbonne. During these years he was also active in the area of educational reform. In 1892 he was elected to the French Academy, one of the five learned societies that make up the Institut de France. His pre-eminence as a historian of his own country was illustrated by his editorship of the extensive cooperative work Histoire de France Depuis les Origines Jusquà la Révolution (History of France From its Origins to the Revolution, 1908-1911), and the Histoire de France Contemporaine Depuis la Révolution Jusquà la Paix de 1919 (History of Contemporary France From the Revolution to the Peace of 1919; 1920-1922). At the conclusion of peace following World War I, Lavisse was chosen to chair the committee investigating territorial questions.