Scholarship · Politics · Literature · 1805–1859
Born: 29 July 1805 · Died: 16 April 1859 · Age at death: 53
Alexis de Tocqueville died aged 53. He was born on 29 July 1805 and died on 16 April 1859.
French political thinker whose Democracy in America analysed the young United States and the strengths and dangers of democracy
Did you know?He originally travelled to the United States to study its prison system but ended up writing a famous work on American democracy.
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote the most famous book ever written about America. A young French aristocrat and magistrate, he travelled the United States in 1831 to study its prisons. He came back with something far bigger. Democracy in America examined how equality shaped American life, from local politics to religion. He admired America's civic spirit but warned of the "tyranny of the majority". He later served as French foreign minister. The Old Regime and the Revolution remains a classic.
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 1805 – 16 April 1859), was a French diplomat, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes, 1835 and 1840) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856).
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Profile
French political thinker, 1805–1859
Alexis de Tocqueville was born in Paris on 29 July 1805.
He toured the United States in 1831–32.
Democracy in America appeared in 1835 and 1840.
He was foreign minister in 1849.
Career highlights
Did you know?His travel companion was his friend Gustave de Beaumont.
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