Élie Reclus (; 1827–1904) was a French

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

and anarchist. Élie Reclus was the oldest of five brothers, born to a Protestant minister and his wife. His middle three brothers, including the well known anarchist

Élisée Reclus Jacques Élisée Reclus (; 15 March 18304 July 1905) was a French geographer, writer and anarchist. He produced his 19-volume masterwork, ''La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes'' ("Universal Geography"), over a period of ...

, all became geographers. In 1866 a feminist group called the ''Société pour la Revendication du Droit des Femmes'' began to meet at the house of

André Léo André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

. Members included Paule Minck,

Louise Michel Louise Michel (; 29 May 1830 – 9 January 1905) was a teacher and important figure in the Paris Commune. Following her penal transportation to New Caledonia she embraced anarchism. When returning to France she emerged as an important French a ...

Eliska Vincent Eliska Vincent (née Eliska Girard 1841–1914) was a Utopian socialist and militant feminist in France. She argued that women had lost civil rights that existed in the Middle Ages, and these should be restored. In the late 1880s and 1890s she was ...

, Élie Reclus and his wife Noémie, Mme

Jules Simon Jules François Simon (; 31 December 1814 – 8 June 1896) was a French statesman and philosopher, and one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans in the Third French Republic. Biography Simon was born at Lorient. His father was a linen-dra ...

and

Caroline de Barrau Caroline de Barrau (1828–88) was a wealthy French educationalist, feminist, author and philanthropist. She became interested in the education of girls, created a school in Paris where her daughter was taught, and encouraged her daughter and other ...

Maria Deraismes Maria Deraismes (17 August 1828 – 6 February 1894) was a French author, Freemason, and major pioneering force for women's rights. Biography Born in Paris, Maria Deraismes grew up in Pontoise in the city's northwest outskirts. From a p ...

also participated. Because of the broad range of opinions, the group decided to focus on the subject of improving girls' education. Élie Reclus served as director of the Bibliotheque National in Paris during the

Commune de Paris The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

. Condemned ''par contumace'', he went to the United States, then to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, until the French government

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

in March 1879. While exiled in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, he presented to the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland his first article against circumcision, ''Circumcision, signification, origins and other similar rituals'', in January 1879.Revue internationale des sciences (Tome III, 1879, Paris) Reclus also taught Charles Fairfield, who was the father of

Rebecca West Dame Cicily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...

Works

* Many articles in French or foreign journals or magazines, among which: ** ''Revue de l’Ouest'',

Bay Saint-Louis A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a ...

(United States) ** ''Mysl'', then ''Dielo'',

Saint-Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

** ''Rousskoïé Slovo'' ** ''The Times'' ** ''Putnam’s Magazine'', ** ''International'',

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

) ** ''La Gironde'' (« Lettres d’un cosmopolite ») ** ''La Rive gauche'' ** ''La Nouvelle Revue'', ** ''Revue de la Société d’anthropologie'' ** ''La Commune'' * 1864: Introduction to the ''Dictionnaire des communes de France'', in collaboration with

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

* 1885: ''Les Primitifs'', Chamerot. * 1894: ''Les Primitifs d’Australie'', Dentu. * 1896: ''Renouveau d’une cité'', in collaboration with Élisée Reclus, La Société nouvelle * 1894–1904: conferences at the New University of Brussels on the evolution of religions * 1904–1910, posthumes: ** ''Le Mariage tel qu’il fut et tel qu’il est'', Imprimerie nouvelle, Mons ** ''La Commune de Paris au jour le jour'', Schleicher, reedited in 2011 by the Association Théolib; ** ''Les Croyances populaires'', lessons at the New University ** ''Le Pain. La Doctrine de Luther'', la Société nouvelle ** ''Les Physionomies végétales'', Costes

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* * 1827 births 1904 deaths Anarchist writers French anarchists French male non-fiction writers French Protestants Christian anarchists

Elie Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven. The burgh comprised the linked v ...

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