Théodore Gosselin
French historian and writer (1855–1935)

Louis Léon Théodore Gosselin (7 October 1855, in Richemont, Moselle – 7 February 1935) was a French historian and playwright who wrote under the pen name G. Lenotre. He wrote articles in publications such as Le Figaro, Revue des deux mondes, Le Monde illustré and Le Temps. He also produced numerous works dealing with the French Revolution, especially the Reign of Terror, constructed from his research into primary documents of the era. His work was recognized and admired by his contemporaries. Gosselin was made an officer of the Légion d'honneur and in 1932 was elected to the Académie française, but died before being able to sit in the Academy and never made the speech which he had written in homage to his predecessor, René Bazin.
His works include: Paris Révolutionnaire, La Guillotine et les exécuteurs des arrêts criminels pendant la Révolution; Un conspirateur royaliste pendant la Terreur : le baron de Bats; Le Vrai Chevalier de Maison-Rouge; La Captivité et la mort de Marie-Antoinette; La Chouannerie normande au temps de l’Empire; Le Drame de Varennes; Les Massacres de Septembre; Les Fils de Philippe-Égalité pendant la Terreur; Bleus, Blancs et Rouges; Le Roi Louis XVII et l’énigme du Temple; La Proscription des Girondins.
He also wrote for the theatre: Les Trois Glorieuses, Varennes, Les Grognards.
G. Lenotre died in Paris on 7 February 1935.
“Théodore Gosselin” enters the record as french historian and writer (1855–1935). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Théodore, Gosselin and French can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3093059. VIAF identifies the subject as 100168737. The Library of Congress control number is n50041048. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1855, 1935 and 1932.
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This entry incorporates text from “Théodore Gosselin” 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.