Alexandre Martin (27 April 1815 – 28 May 1895), nicknamed Albert l'Ouvrier ("Albert the Worker"), was a French

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

of the

French Second Republic The French Second Republic ( or ), officially the French Republic (), was the second republican government of France. It existed from 1848 until its dissolution in 1852. Following the final defeat of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle ...

. He was the first member of the industrial working class to be in French government.

Early life

Albert was born in Bury, in the

Oise Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' to a peasant family. As a young man he moved to Paris, where he served as an apprentice in his uncle's machine shop; later, he worked as a machinist in a button factory. He participated in the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

of 1830. Throughout his public life, he was known simply as "Albert the Worker," and was closely associated with the socialist

Louis Blanc Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc ( ; ; 29 October 1811 – 6 December 1882) was a French Socialism, socialist politician, journalist and historian. He called for the creation of cooperatives in order to job guarantee, guarantee employment for t ...

. He was a member of a variety of secret revolutionary societies in the 1830s and 1840s. He was made leader of the revolutionary ''Nouvelles Saisons'' society in 1839, and editor of the '' l'Atelier'' the following year.

Revolution of 1848

Martin fought on the

barricade Barricade (from the French ''barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denotes ...

s in the

revolution of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, and was a member of the socialist government that formed at the Hôtel de Ville. When the socialists were included into the provisional government, Louis Blanc made Albert – by this time a popular figure among the workers – a secretary. He was sent to the Luxembourg Commission – the provisional government's labor commission – as

's vice-president, a position he held until the 15 May riots. Albert and Blanc were two of the six members of the Luxembourg Commission to be elected in the April elections. The socialists – who, through the Luxembourg Commission ran a virtual state-within-a-state – clashed with the Assembly. Blanc's proposal for a fully fledged ministry of labor in keeping with his ideal for "national workshops" was rejected on 10 May. By this time, Albert had lost faith in the provisional government, and, together with

Louis Auguste Blanqui Louis Auguste Blanqui (; 8 February 1805 – 1 January 1881) was a French socialist, political philosopher and political activist, notable for his revolutionary theory of Blanquism. Biography Early life, political activity and first impris ...

and

Armand Barbès Armand Barbès (18 September 1809 – 26 June 1870) was a French Republican revolutionary and an opponent of the July Monarchy (1830–1848). He is remembered as a man whose life centers on two days: * ''12 May 1839'', the day of the upris ...

, attempted an insurrection of his own. On 15 May, they led a crowd, demonstrating against the government; the riot was bloodily suppressed by the bourgeois National Guards, and Albert and Barbès were captured at the Hôtel de Ville.

Trial and imprisonment

Albert did not defend himself at the subsequent trial at

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

, in 1849. He was thus found guilty of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

and an attempt to incite revolution, and sent to prison on

Belle Île Belle-Île (), Belle-Île-en-Mer (), or Belle Isle (, ; ) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the ''département in France, département'' of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is from the Quiberon peninsula. Admini ...

for four years. When he became ill in 1854, he was transferred to

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, where he remained until he was released by the general

amnesty Amnesty () 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 officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

of 16 August 1859.

Later life

Martin returned to Paris as a working man, taking a job for the gas company. In 1870, during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, became a member of the ''Commission des Barricades'' in the

Government of National Defense The Government of National Defense () was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the proclamation of the Republic in Paris on 4 September ...

, and stood for election twice in the Third Republic, losing both bids. He retired to Mello in his home ''département'' of Oise. A national funeral followed his death in 1895 and his tombstone was donated by the government.

References

External links