Charles Forbes René de Montalembert

Charles Forbes René de Montalembert (March 18, 1810 London - March 13, 1870 Paris), was a French publicist and historian. He belonged to a family of Angoumois, which could trace its descent back to the 13th century; charters carry the history of the house two centuries further. For some generations before the historian the family had been distinguished, both in the army and in the field of science. Montalembert's father, Marc René, had fought und... more

Charles Forbes René de Montalembert (March 18, 1810 London - March 13, 1870 Paris), was a French publicist and historian. He belonged to a family of Angoumois, which could trace its descent back to the 13th century; charters carry the history of the house two centuries further. For some generations before the historian the family had been distinguished, both in the army and in the field of science. Montalembert's father, Marc René, had fought under Condé, and subsequently served in the English army; he married Elise Rosee Forbes, and his eldest son, Charles, was born in London. At the Restoration of 1814 Marc René returned to France, was raised to the peerage in 1810, and became ambassador to Sweden (where Charles completed his education) in 1826. He died in 1831, a year after the overthrow of the monarchy. Charles de Montalembert was under twenty-five and therefore too young to take his seat as a peer, but he retained other rights. Combined with his literary and intellectual activity... less