Death Centenary of Viscount de Tocqueville 23.4.2005

Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, Viscount de Tocqueville (29 July 1805 – 16 April 1859) was a French diplomat, political scientist, and historian. He was best known for his works Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes: 1835 and 1840) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both he analyzed the improved living standards and social conditions of individuals, as well as their relationship to the market and state in Western societies. Democracy in America was published after Tocqueville's travels in the United States and is today considered an early work of sociology and political science.

Centenary of the Death of Historian and Senator Henri Wallon 13.11.2004

Henri-Alexandre Wallon (23 December 1812 – 13 November 1904) was a French historian and statesman whose decisive contribution to the creation of the Third Republic led him to be called the "Father of the Republic". He was the grandfather of psychologist and politician Henri Wallon. Returning to politics after the Franco-Prussian War, Wallon was re-elected by the department of the Nord in 1871, took an active part in the proceedings of the Assembly, and finally immortalized himself by carrying his proposition for the establishment of the Republic with a president elected for seven years, and then eligible for re-election, which, after violent debates, was adopted by the Assembly on 30 January 1875. "Ma proposition," he declared, "ne proclame pas la République, elle la fait." Upon the definitive establishment of the Republic, Wallon became Minister of Public Instruction, and effected many useful reforms, but his views were too conservative for the majority of the Assembly, and he retired in May 1876. He had been chosen a life senator in December 1875.