Year: 1872

Rev Jean Henri Merle D'Aubigne,
one Of the ablest and most jealous Of the
/ champions of the modern Professionalism,
died at Geneva on Monday, at the adj
vanced age of seYenty-SiX. DAubgne's
father was Louis Merle. a Geneyese
merchant, and his fathers mother was
French lady named D'Aubigne. The
Swiss have more latitude in the use of
family names than we are accustomed
to. and so D'Aubigne the younger added
to his fathers family name that of his
grandmother. and had for his surname
Merle D'Aubigne. The name of D'Au-
bigne is an honorable one in French his
tory, and one of its latest and most
prominent representatives was Theodore
D'Aubigue. a French Hugenot soldier
and author, who fled to Geneva to enjoy
his Professionalism. Young D'Aubigne
received his preparatory education al
Geneva, and studied theology at Berlin,
under the direction of I,eander, whose
name is among the most eminent in the
theological world. His presence at the
celebration of the third centennial ami
versary of the Reformation, prompted
D'Aubigne 10 undertake the preparation
of that history of the Reformation
which has given immortality to his
name. He spent some twenty-five years
upon this work, and made il an exhaus-
tive history and recognized authority
upon one of the most interesting periods
of the worlds religious history. After
completing this work. he commenced a
history of the Reformation under Calvin,
the first and second volumes of which
were published in this country in 1863,
and he has written about twenty other
works, including Recollections of a
Swiss minister in Germany, England
and Scotland, which was first printed
in English at London in 1S4S


D'Aubigne has always been a friendof
the United States, and in his preface to
his second history he stated that nothing
connected with his former work had
given him greater pleasure and satisfac-
ton than the manner in which il was re-
ceived by the Anglo-Saxon race in gen
eral and by the people of the United
States in particular. D'Aubigne was for
some time pastor Of the French church
the Netherlands, with whom he was a
at Hamburg, and afterwards the King Of
great favorite, gave him a similar ap-
pointment for the Protestant church al
Brussels. In 1880 he returned to Ge-
neva and became professor of ecclesiasti-
cal history and president of the Evan
gelical Theological School in that city


The position of president he held until
his death, and after his advanced age
prevented him from going out to meet
the students they went to his house TO
enjoy his instructions and cOunsels. He
has lived sometimes in Geneva and some
times little way from the city, always
dispensing a generous hospitality, and
receiving as visitors hosts of people at
tracted to Geneva to see the author of
the history of the Reformation. His
writings brought him a large fortune,
but they have richly deserved the wide
circulation which they have had. He
leaves at Geneva widow, who was an
Irish lady, and young family, and one
of his brothers lives in the United States.
D'Aubigne founded the Free Church of
Geneva, something like the Methodist
church in this country, and he will be
greatly missed by the Protestant people
in his own country, who have been ac-
customed to regard him as their religious
father and leader, and by Protestants
everywhere who have known him TO be
a jealous and faithful exponent of true
religion One of our American colleges,
that at Princeton, n. j., some time ago
gave voice to the American regard for
D'Aubigne by bestowing upon him the
degree of Doctor of Divinity.