Martin Bon Louis Henri

Martin, Bon Louis Henri (1810-83), the great French historian, was born at St. Quentin and trained for a legal career. He soon, however, made up his mind to write, and began by publishing some historical romances, three of which deal with the Fronde period. He then contributed a short history of Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands to the Bibliothique Populaire, and in 1833, in conjunction with Paul Lacroix, entered upon a compilation of French history from chronicles and histories. His great work, The History of France, from the earliest times to 1789, was begun in 1833 and finished in 1836. The third edition, which was largely extended, was finished in 1854, and received the Gobert Prize. The fourth, in seventeen volumes, was further improved, and published in 1860. It was awarded the prize of the Institute in 1869. The crown to his literary career was his election to the Academie Francaise in 1878. In politics Martin was a strong republican. He became a deputy in 1871, and a senator in 1876.