Scheurer-Kestner, Auguste, 1833-1899

Auguste Scheurer-Kestner (11 February 1833 in Mulhouse (Haut Rhin) – 19 September 1899 in Bagnères-de-Luchon (Haute Garonne)) was a chemist, industrialist, a Protestant and an Alsatian politician. He was the uncle by marriage of the wife of Jules Ferry. He was a Republican and opposed the French Second Empire of Napoleon III. He was elected member for Haut Rhin on 2 July 1871 and became senator for life on 15 September 1875. Twenty years later, he was the last representative of the Alsace French Parliament. A close friend of Georges Clemenceau and Léon Gambetta, he provided the greater part of the funds for the publication of The French Republic newspaper that ran from 1879 to 1884. In 1894, Auguste Scheurer-Kestner as Senior Vice-President of the Senate was considered a moral authority in politics. He played a major role in opening the Dreyfus case in the summer of 1897.