Louise Michel
| Louise Michel | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
29 May 1830 Vroncourt-la-Côte, France |
| Died | 9 January 1905 (aged 74) Marseille, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Other names | la Louve rouge (red she-wolf), la Bonne Louise (the good Louise) |
| Occupation | Revolutionary, Teacher, Medic |
| Known for | Activities in the Paris Commune |
Louise Michel (French pronunciation: [lwiz miʃɛl]; 1830–1905) was a French anarchist, school teacher, medical worker, and important figure in the Paris Commune. She often used the pseudonym Clémence and was also known as the red virgin of Montmartre. Journalist Brian Doherty has called her the "French grande dame of anarchy." Yale historian John Merriman said: "She embraced the cause of women's rights, proclaiming that one could not separate 'the caste of women from humanity'".
Louise Michel was born at the Château of Vroncourt (Haute-Marne) on 29 May 1830, the illegitimate daughter of a serving-maid, Marianne Michel, and the châtelain, Etienne Charles Demahis.
She was brought up by her mother and her father's parents near the village of Vroncourt-la-Côte and received a liberal education. She became interested in traditional customs, folk myths and legends. After her grandfather's death in 1850 she was trained to teach, but her refusal to acknowledge Napoleon III prevented her from serving in a state school. She became violently anti-Bonapartist, and is even said to have contemplated the assassination of Napoleon III. In 1866 she found her way to a school in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, where she threw herself ardently into works of charity and revolutionary politics. In 1866 a feminist group called the Société pour la Revendication du Droit des Femmes began to meet at the house of André Léo. Members included Paule Minck, Eliska Vincent, Élie Reclus and his wife Néomie, Mme Jules Simon, Caroline de Barrau, Maria Deraismes and Louise Michel. Because of the broad range of opinions, the group decided to focus on the subject of improving girls' education.
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