Henri de Tourville
sociologist, Catholic priest (1842-1903)
Henri de Tourville (1842–1903), also often referred to as Abbé Henri de Tourville, was a French priest who distinguished himself as one of the precursors of sociology, as well as in the fields of philosophy and education. Initially influenced by Frédéric Le Play, he broke with him and created a school called Social Science. His disciple and friend Edmond Demolins founded the famous École des Roches near Verneuil-sur-Avre.
Life
Born in Paris on 19 March 1842, he was trained in the Catholic seminary of Issy-les-Moulineaux and in the law school of the Sorbonne university in Paris. He always had a poor health and dedicated most of his life to writing from his family estate of Tourville, where he had to retire after only a few years of work as a priest in Paris. There, he would also receive and counsel his many disciples and friends. He wrote only one book but developed his thinking through an extremely abundant correspondence. He died in Tourville Castle on 5 March 1903.
Thought
Social science
Herri de Tourville opened a new era in social research when he developed a tool allowing for the analysis and classification of observations about a social group, which was published in 1886 under the name of "social facts nomenclature", which included 25 major categories and over 100 sub-categories relevant to localisation, wealth, income, education and religion. Going beyond the mere economic characteristics used by Le Play Henri de Tourville emphasized the « geographical space’s constraints » and their impact of individuals or social groups.
The public source identifies “Henri de Tourville” as sociologist, Catholic priest (1842-1903). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Henri, Tourville and sociologist.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Henri de Tourville”, the useful work is to connect “sociologist, Catholic priest (1842-1903)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 18, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q34370846. VIAF identifies the subject as 39508175. The Library of Congress control number is no99057815. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1842, 1903 and 1886.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Henri de Tourville”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Henri de Tourville primary sources, Henri de Tourville archive and Henri research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Henri de Tourville”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Henri de Tourville” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.