Charles Comte

Charles Comte (1782-1837) (François-Charles-Louis Comte) was a French lawyer, journalist and political writer. In 1814 he founded, with Charles Dunoyer, Le Censeur, the liberal journal. In 1820, he was found guilty of attacks against the King and went into exile in Switzerland where as professor of natural law, he taught at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Following comments made by Fredric Jean Witt, a revolutionary, to the Bavarian police, and an intervention by the French police, Comte was forced to leave Switzerland. He took refuge in England for 18 months where he became acquainted with Jeremy Bentham and in 1825, he returned to France and began contributing to the Revue Americaine. In 1827 he published Traité de législation (4 volumes, in-8) (A Treaty of law) which outlined laws governing the development of companies and the reasons why development might be held back. The book established his reputation and earned him a Montyon Prize. As an economist, he followed the doctrines of Jean-Baptiste Say whose daughter he married. He was active in the opposition which led to the July Revolution of 1830 (he refused to pay taxes until Charles X revoked a series anti-liberal decrees) and was elected a deputy in the Sarthe in 1831 and again in 1834. In 1832, he was elected to the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques.