Élie Reclus

Who was Élie Reclus?

Élie Reclus was a French ethnographer who studied what were then called primitive cultures. He served as director of the Bibliotheque National in Paris during the Commune de Paris. Comdemned par contumace, he went to United States, then in England until the french government amnesty in march 1879.

He was the oldest of five brothers, born to a Protestant minister and his wife. His middle three brothers, including the well known anarchist Elisée Reclus, all became geographers. Exiled in London, he presented to the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland his first article against circumcision, Circumcision, signification, origins and other similar rituals, in january 1879.

He is also known for his anarchist writings.