Élisée Reclus (1878)

Élisée Reclus (March 15, 1830 - July 4, 1905) was a French geographer and anarchist. March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in Leap years). ... 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 180 days remaining. ... 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... A geographer is a scientist whose area of study is geography, the study of the physical environment and human habitat. ... Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. ...

He was born at Sainte-Foy-la-Grande (Gironde). He was the second son of a Protestant pastor, who had a family of twelve children, several of whom acquired some celebrity either as men of letters, politicians or members of the learned professions. Sainte-Foy-la-Grande is a commune of the Gironde d partement, in France. ... Gironde is a département in the southwest of France named after the Gironde Estuary. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... A politician is an individual involved in politics. ...

His education, begun in Rhenish Prussia, was continued in the Protestant college of Montauhan, and completed at the university of Berlin, where he followed a long course of geography under Karl Ritter.

Withdrawing from France in consequence of the events of December 1851, he spent the next six years (1852—57) visiting the British Isles, the United States, Central America, and Colombia. On his return to Paris he contributed to the Revue des deux mondes, the Tour du monde and other periodicals a large number of articles embodying the results of his geographical work. Among other works at this period was an excellent short book, Histoire d’un ruisseau, in which he traces the development of a great river from source to mouth. In 1867—68 he published La Terre; description des phénomènes de la vie du globe, in two volumes. Great Britain - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... The Republic of Colombia is a country in north-western South America. ... The Revue des Deux Mondes is a monthly French language magazine. ...

During the siege of Paris, Reclus shared in the aerostatic operations conducted by M. Nadar, and also served in the National Guard, while as a member of the Association Nationale des Travailleurs he published in the Cri du Peuple a hostile manifesto against the government of Versailles in connection with the Communist rising of the 18th of March 1871. Versailles, formerly the capital city of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important administrative and judicial center. ... Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ...

Continuing to serve in the National Guard, now in open revolt, he was taken prisoner on the 5th of April, and on the 16th of November sentenced to transportation for life; but, largely at the instance of influential deputations from England, the sentence was commuted in January 1872 to perpetual banishment.

Thereupon, after a short visit to Italy, he settled at Clarens, in Switzerland, where he resumed his literary labours, and, after producing the Histoire d’une montagne (a companion to Histoire d’un ruisseau), wrote nearly the whole of his great work, La Nouvelle Géographic universelle, la terre et les hoinmes, 19 vols. (1875—94). This is a stupendous compilation, profusely illustrated with maps, plans, and engravings, and was crowned with the gold medal of the Paris Geographical Society in 1892. An English edition appeared simultaneously, also in 19 vols., the first four by E. G. Ravenstein, the rest by A. H. Keane. The Italian Republic or Italy (Italian: Repubblica Italiana or Italia) is a country in southern Europe. ... The Swiss Confederation or Switzerland is a landlocked federal state in Europe, with neighbours Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. ... See also Wikipedia:Maps for information on how maps are used in Wikipedia. ...

Extreme accuracy and brilliant exposition form the leading characteristics of all Reclus’s writings, which thus possess permanent literary and scientific value.

In 1882 Reclus initiated the "Anti-Marriage Movement," in accordance with which he allowed his two daughters to marry without any civil or religious sanction whatever. This step caused no little embarrassment to many of his well-wishers, and was followed by government prosecutions, instituted in the High Court of Lyons, against the anarchists, members of the International Association, of which Reclus and Prince Kropotkin were designated as the two chief organizers. The prince was arrested and condemned to five years’ imprisonment, but Reclus, being resident in Switzerland, escaped. Lyons), see Lyons (disambiguation). ... Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. ... Peter Kropotkin Prince Peter Alexeievich Kropotkin (Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин) ( December 9, 1842 - February 8, 1921) was one of Russias foremost anarchists and one of the first advocates of what he called anarchist communism: the model of society he advocated for most of his life was that of a communist...

After 1892 he filled the chair of comparative geography in the university of Brussels, and contributed several important memoirs to French, German and English scientific journals. Among these may be mentioned: Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels ( Dutch: Brussel, French: Bruxelles, German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium and is considered by many to be the de facto capital of the European Union, as two of its three main institutions have their headquarters...

• "The Progress of Mankind" (Contemp. Rev., 1896)
• "Attila de Gerando" (Rev. Géograph., 1898)
• "A Great Globe" (Geograph. Journ., 1898)
• "L’Extrême-Orient" (Bul. Antwerp Geo. Soc., 1898), a thoughtful study of the political geography of the Far East and its possible changes
• "La Perse" (Bul. Soc. Neuchateloise, 1899)
• "La Phénice et les Phéniciens" (ibid., 1900)
• "La Chine et la diplomatie européenne" ("L'Humanité nouvelle" series, 1900)
• "L'Enseignement de la géographie" (Instit. Geograph. de Bruxelles, No. 5, 1901)

Shortly before his death Reclus had completed L'Homme et la terre, in which he set the crown on his previous greater works by considering man in his development relative to geographical environment.

Reclus died at Thourout, near Bruges, on July 4, 1905. Sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North, Bruges has many waterways that run through the city. ...

External links

• Reclus at the Anarchy Archive (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/reclus/reclus.html)
• Samuel Stephenson, Reclus Biography (http://academic.reed.edu/formosa/texts/reclusbio.html)

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica ( 1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...