born April 29, 1837, Rennes, France
died Sept. 30, 1891, Brussels, Belg.
French general and politician.
He entered the army in 1856, helped suppress the Paris Commune (1871), and rose in rank to brigadier general (1880) and director of infantry (1882). Named minister of war in 1886, he introduced various military reforms and was seen as the man destined to avenge France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. In 1888 he led a short-lived but influential authoritarian movement that threatened to topple the Third Republic . In 1889 the government decided to prosecute him, prompting him to flee Paris. He was convicted in absentia for treason, and in 1891 he committed suicide.
Georges Boulanger
H. Roger-Viollet