Carnot, Hippolyte

Carnot, Hippolyte ēpôlētˈ kärnōˈ [key], 1801–88, French statesman; son of Lazare Carnot. He shared his father's exile after 1815 and returned to France in 1823. A follower of Claude Henri de Saint-Simon, he participated in the July Revolution of 1830. He came to oppose the July Monarchy and was elected three times as an opposition member of the chamber of deputies. He took part in the radical agitation that led to the February Revolution of 1848 and became minister of education in the provisional government. Entering (1864) the corps législatif, he joined the liberal opposition to Emperor Napoleon III, after whose downfall he became a member of the constituent assembly (1871) and then a senator for life (1875).

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