Louise Michel Papers

Period  1860-1905 (-1946)
Total size   1.9 m.
Consultation Not restricted
User restriction   Only microfilms can be consulted.

Biography

Born in Vroncourt, Haute-Marne, France 1830, died in Marseille 1905; pedagogue, writer, political activist, Communard and anarchist; opened her own free school in Audeloncourt in 1852 and one in Monmartre, Paris in 1865; she wrote novels, poems, plays, articles on literature; she assisted at political meetings and manifestations in Paris from 1856 and wrote for Republican papers, turning more and more radical; she took part wholeheartedly in the Commune of Paris as a nurse on ambulances, propagandist and foremost on the barricades; she gave herself up in exchange for her mother and was imprisoned in New Caledonia from 1873-1880; her experiences with the power of institutions during the Commune made her turn to anarchism; on her return to Paris she was met by enthusiastic crowds; she resumed her political activities, speaking at meetings across the country; she was arrested on several occasions and imprisoned for a longer period again from 1883-1886; from 1890 she lived in semi-exile in London where she was a member of the Fabian Society and continued lecturing, also in Holland, Belgium and Algeria; back in France, she died in Marseille, while on a lecturing tour; 1000.000 persons came to her funeral; her many publications include her "Memoires" (Paris 1886), "La Commune" (Paris 1898) and her journal "L'Intransigeant" (1883-1896).

Content

Correspondence with relatives, friends, Communards, socialists and anarchists 1871-1904; handwritten manuscript of her memoirs, other handwritten manuscripts, some poetry, notes and notebooks, personal documents, commemorative articles, pamphlets, leaflets, press clippings; documents from Lucien Descaves on Louise Michel 1871-1946.

Processing information

Inventory made by Quentin Dupuis in 2003

Secondary creator

Descaves, Lucien

Alternate Form of Material

19 microfilms (2004)