Ernest Hamel (1826-1898) was a French lawyer, poet, historian, journalist and politician. He served as a member of the

French Senate The Senate (, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. It is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' and ...

from 1892 to 1898, representing

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () is a former department of France, which encompassed the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris. Its prefecture was Versailles and its administrative number was 78. Seine-et-Oise was disbanded in ...

Early life

Ernest Hamel was born on 2 July 1826 in Paris, France. His great-uncle, Charles François Lhomond, was a grammarian. Hamel was educated at the

Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV () is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges ('' lycées'') in France. The school educates more ...

from 1835 to 1845. He studied the Law at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

from 1845 to 1848.

Career

Hamel published two books about French institutions in 1848-1849. In 1851, he published a collection of poems, ''Les derniers chants''. He subsequently published history books. He also wrote biographies. He served as the president of the Société des Gens de Lettres. Hamel served as a member of the

Francs-tireurs (; ) were irregular military formations deployed by France during the early stages of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). The term was revived and used by partisans to name two major French Resistance movements set up to fight against Nazi G ...

as well as the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

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 ...

of 1870-1871. Shortly after the war, Hamel embarked upon a career in journalism, writing for ''Le Courrier du dimanche'', ''L'Opinion nationale'', ''Le Siècle'', ''La Presse libre'', ''La Réforme'', ''La Revue contemporaine'', etc. Hamel ran for the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

in 1871 and 1876, but he lost both elections. He served as a councillor of the

12th arrondissement of Paris The 12th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is the easternmost arrondissement of Paris, as well as the largest by area ...

from 1878 to 1887, when he lost the re-election. Meanwhile, he served as the mayor of Richebourg in

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207. Eventually, he served as a member of the

from 1892 to 1898, representing

. During his tenure as senator, he debated bills about the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

and

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

Personal life, death and legacy

Hamel married Mathilde Huber. They had a son, Edouard Hamel, and a daughter, Louise, who married Paul Maitrot de Varenne. He purchased the Manoir de la Troche in Richebourg from the Dufresne in 1880. Hamel died on 6 January 1898 in Paris. He was 71 years old. He was buried at the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

. His son, Edouard Hamel, inherited his manor and served as the mayor of Richebourg.

Works

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamel, Ernest 1826 births 1898 deaths Lawyers from Paris University of Paris alumni French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War French male poets 19th-century French poets 19th-century French historians French biographers Journalists from Paris Mayors of places in Île-de-France French senators of the Third Republic 19th-century French male writers Senators of Seine-et-Oise French male biographers Councillors of Paris