Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Cause célèbre
A cause célèbre (plural, causes célèbres) is a common French phrase used in English to describe an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy or heated public debate, paticularly famous legal cases. In French, cause means "case" and célèbre means "celebrated." The origin of the phrase was from the 37-volume Nouvelles Causes Célèbres , published in 1763, a volume of famous French court decisions from the 17th and 18th centuries. It came into common usage in English after the 1894 conviction of Alfred Dreyfus for espionage, which attracted worldwide interest.
See also: Landmark decision
External links
- Project Gutenberg has several volumes on "causes célèbres":
Last updated: 08-04-2005 22:38:22
10-26-2009 08:16:03
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details