Eugène Spuller (8 December 183523 July 1896) was a French politician and writer. He was born at Seurre (

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

, he went to Paris, where he was called to the bar, and became close to

Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, Ga ...

, collaborating with him in 1868 in the foundation of the ''Revue politique''. He had helped

Emile Ollivier Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...

in his electoral campaign in Paris in 1863, but when in 1869 Ollivier was preparing to "rally" to the empire, Spuller supported the republican candidate. During the siege of Paris he escaped from the city with Gambetta, becoming his energetic lieutenant in the provinces. After the peace he edited his chief's Parisian organ, the ''République française'', until in 1876 he entered the Chamber of Deputies for the department of the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

. He was minister of foreign affairs during the brief Gambetta administration, and subsequently one of the vice-presidents of the chamber, serving on the budget commission and on a special industrial and agricultural inquiry. His Parisian constituents thought him too moderate on the clerical question, and he had to seek election in 1885 in the Côte d'Or, which in later years he represented in the Senate. He was minister of education, religion and the fine arts in

Maurice Rouvier Maurice Rouvier (; 17 April 1842 – 7 June 1911) was a French statesman of the "Opportunist" faction, who served as the Prime Minister of France. He is best known for his financial policies and his unpopular policies designed to avoid a ruptur ...

's cabinet of 1887; minister of foreign affairs under

Pierre Tirard Pierre Emmanuel Tirard (; 27 September 1827 – 4 November 1893) was a French politician. Biography He was born to French parents in Geneva, Switzerland. After studying in his native town, Tirard became a civil engineer. After five years of go ...

(1889–1890), and minister of education in 1894 in the Casimir-Perier cabinet. His published works include some volumes of speeches and well-known studies of

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola, Society of Jesus, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spain, Spanish Catholic ...

(1876) and of

Jules Michelet Jules Michelet (; 21 August 1798 – 9 February 1874) was a French historian and an author on other topics whose major work was a history of France and its culture. His aphoristic style emphasized his anti-clerical republicanism. In Michelet's ...

(1876).

Statue of Liberty dedication

On 4 July 1884 Spuller and other members of the French Cabinet formally presented the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

to the United States. Following the ceremony, the statue was dismantled into numbered sections and packed in 210 wooden cases and put aboard the government steamshi
'Isère'
which sailed on 21 May 1885 for New York City.

Death and tomb

Spuller died in

Sombernon Sombernon () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 communes of the Côte-d'Or department of France. The communes cooper ...

on July 23, 1896 following a lengthy illness. Spuller's tomb in the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

in Paris is marked by a statue representing ''National Education'', by sculptor

Paul Gasq Paul Jean-Baptiste Gasq (30 March 1860 – 28 October 1944) was a French sculptor, born in Dijon. Life His father was a railway employee who was often absent. He began his studies at the School of Fine Arts in Dijon then, in 1879, enrolled at ...

.
''New York Times'' Obituary Record July 1896

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spuller, Eugene 1835 births 1896 deaths People from Côte-d'Or French people of German descent Politicians from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Republican Union (France) politicians French Ministers of National Education French Foreign Ministers Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French Senators of the Third Republic Senators of Côte-d'Or Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery