BAMBERGER, EDOUARD-ADRIEN

BAMBERGER, EDOUARD-ADRIEN (1825–1910), French politician and physician. Born in Strasbourg, he moved in 1858 to Metz where he became vice president of the Metz Education League. He strenuously opposed the policies of Napoleon III and campaigned to bring about the anti-Empire majority in Metz in 1870. Elected as a Republican deputy in the National Assembly, Bamberger considerably influenced the votes on Napoleon III's responsibility for France's debacle and the subsequent deposition of the emperor. He voted against the treaty ceding his native Alsace to Germany and led the deputies from the annexed province out of the Assembly when the treaty was accepted. Recalled by Thiers following the 1871 insurrection, Bamberger resumed his seat at Versailles and voted regularly for the Republican majority. He was defeated in the 1881 elections, retired from politics, and became assistant librarian in the Museum of Natural History. During the parliamentary debates on the law concerning child labor, he moved an amendment – which was rejected – demanding that Jewish apprentices be exempt from working on Saturday. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Biographie complète des 534 députés… (1876).