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Biography

General chronology

• 9 October 1859  Alfred Dreyfus is born in Mulhouse, the ninth child of Raphaël Dreyfus and his wife Jeannette LibmannPrivate coll.
• • 4 September 1870Gambetta proclaims the Third Republic© RMN / Lagiewsky
  • 10 May 1871 Under the Treaty of Frankfurt Alsace and the department of Moselle become German territory© iconothèque MNATP
• 1876–1877 In Paris, at the Collège Sainte-Barbe, Dreyfus prepares for the entrance examination for the Ecole PolytechniquePrivate coll.
• November 1878 Admission to the Ecole Polytechnique Private coll.
• • 30 January 1879 Jules Grévy is elected President of the Republic© RMN / G. Blot
• 1880–1882 Second lieutenant at the Ecole d’Application de l’Artillerie in Fontainebleau; 1 October 1882: lieutenant in the 31st artillery regiment based in Mans© MAHJ
  • 25 September 1880 Jules Ferry becomes Prime Minister© AD du Nord
  • 12 May 1881 Tunisia is made a French protectorateArchives photographiques (Médiathèque de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine) © CMN
• • 23 August 1883  Annam is made a French protectorate© CAOM
• 1884–1889 Seconded to Paris as lieutenant in the horse batteriesPrivate coll.
  • 21 mars 1884 The Waldeck-Rousseau Law legalizes trade unions© RMN / C. Jean
  • 7 January 1886 General Boulanger is appointed War Minister© Musée de l'Armée
    © Musée des civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée
  • 3 December 1887 Sadi Carnot is elected President of the Republic© RMN / Hervé Lewandowski
• April 1890 Marriage (in both civil and religious ceremonies) to Lucie Hadamard, born 24 August 1869 in ChatouPrivate coll.
• 1890–1892 Student at the Ecole de Guerre, graduates 9th in his class19 November 1892Intern at the Army General Staff OfficePrivate coll.
• 15 October 1894 Captain Dreyfus is arrested and jailed in the Cherche-Midi military prison© MAHJ
  • 24 June 1894 Assassination of President Sadi CarnotColl. MHV
  • 27 June 1894 Jean Casimir-Périer is elected President of the RepublicArchives photographiques (Médiathèque de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine) © CMN
• 22 December 1894 Convicted of treason and sentenced to permanent deportation in a fortified enclosure and stripped of his rank© CAOM
• 5 January 1895  Stripped of his rank in the main courtyard of the Ecole Militaire in Paris© MAHJ
• March–April 1895 Arrival in Guyana on 12 March, transferred to Devil's Island© CAOM
  • 17 January 1895 Félix Faure is elected President of the Republic
• October 1895–December 1897 The Dreyfus family's petitions and appeals to the authorities remain fruitless© MHV
• 13 January 1898 In I Accuse…!, printed in 300,000 copies, Zola challenges the experts and especially the generals and the "war offices."© Ordre des avocats
• 4 June 1898Ludovic Trarieux founds the French League for the Defense of Human Rights and the Citizen© MAHJ
• July 1898–September 1898On 5 July, Lucie Dreyfus addresses a request to the Minister of Justice to overturn the judgment of 1894. On 3 September she makes a new request for a review© MAHJ
  • • 4 November 1898 French troops evacuate Fachoda
• 3 June 1899The Cour of Cassation quashes and annuls the verdict handed down on 28 December 1894 against Alfred Dreyfus and sends him back before the Rennes court martial © AM Rennes
  • 18 February 1899 Émile Loubet is elected President of the Republic
  • 23 February 1899 Déroulède's attempt at a coup d'état fails© RMN / G. Blot
• 9 June–1 July 1899Captain Dreyfus is transferred from Devil's Island to the military prison in Rennes© AD Ille-et-Vilaine
  • 22 June 1899  Waldeck-Rousseau becomes Prime Minister
• 7 August–9 September 1899New trial in Rennes: by 5 votes to 2, Dreyfus is found guilty with extenuating circumstances, and is sentenced to ten years in prison© Ordre des avocats
• 12 September 1899 Dreyfus withdraws his request for appeal© RMN / Arnaudet
• 19 September 1899Decree by President Loubet pardoning Alfred Dreyfus© École polytechnique
• 21 September 1899Alfred Dreyfus rejoins his family in CarpentrasPrivate coll.
• 8 March 1900Alfred Dreyfus protests the amnesty law adopted by the Senate on 2 June© Cour de cassation / T. Sagory
  • 14 April 1900² Opening of Paris's Universal Exposition
• • 1 July 1901 Promulgation of the law concerning associations
  • Decembre 1901 Ratification of Franco-Russian military protocols© RMN / El Meliani
• 5 October 1902Emile Zola's funeral ceremony; Dreyfus is in attendance© Archives Panthéon
  • 27 April 1902 The left takes the majority in the Chamber of Deputies (339 seats out of 590)
  • 6 June 1902 Émile Combes becomes Prime Minister© Musée Jean-Jaurès de Castres
• 7 April 1903 Jaurès is able to demonstrate Dreyfus's innocence; the government opens an administrative enquiry© Archives Panthéon
• November 1903A request for review is drawn up by Mornard and Dreyfus© MHV
• 1 February 1904Alfred Dreyfus files a report on the Affair© MAHJ
  • 8 April 1904 The Franco-British Entente Cordiale is signedColl. Pr. M. Agulhon
  • 15 November 1904 General André, War Minister, resigns
• • 9 December 1905 Law concerning the separation of Church and State© Centre historique des Archives nationales
• 12 July 1906Dreyfus's innocence is proclaimed in the Court of Cassation's decree© Ordre des avocats
  • 17 January 1906  Armand Fallières is elected President of the Republic© RMN / Hervé Lewandowski
  • May 1906  The left controls 420 seats out of 590 in the Chamber of Deputies
• 13 July 1906 The Chamber of Deputies votes a law conferring on Captain Dreyfus the rank of squadron leader and awarding him a Knight's Cross in the Legion of Honor© Ordre des avocats
• 21 July 1906 Dreyfus is awarded the Knight's Cross in the Legion of Honor in the small courtyard of the Ecole MilitairePrivate coll.
• 5 October 1906 Alfred Dreyfus is made artillery commander for the Saint-Denis arrondissementPrivate coll.
  • 25 October 1906 Clemenceau becomes Prime Minister
• 26 June 1907Having lost any hope of attaining the rank of general, Dreyfus requests retirement, which is granted by a decree dated 25 October 1907Private coll.
• 4 June 1908Dreyfus is shot and wounded during the transfer of Zola to the Pantheon, but the would-be assassin, the journalist Gregori, is acquitted by the Seine Court of Assizes© BHVP
• 1914–1918Dreyfus is assigned to the general staff of the artillery section of the retrenched Paris camp, and then to the artillery depot of the 168th divisionPrivate coll.
• July 1919Dreyfus is promoted to lieutenant colonel in the reserves in September 1918, and is awarded the Officer's Cross in the Legion of Honor© CHAN
• 12 July 1935 Alfred Dreyfus, a retired artillery officer, "barred from following his path by a tragic error," dies in Paris. Two days later, he is buried in the Montparnasse cemetery.Private coll.