Napoleon III pardoned the well-known Catholic writer and historian Comte de Montalembert over his October conviction for libel. Napoleon had taken to using the libel laws to suppress dissent and Montalembert was charged and had been convicted over an article that compared French government unfavorably to that of the British. The emperor had set aside the sentence earlier in the month but Montalembert had continued with his appeal. When this was partially upheld, Napoleon III pardoned him completely. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Charlton Thomas Lewis, Joseph H. Willsey, Harper's Book of Facts: A Classified History of the World; Embracing Science, Literature, and Art (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1895), 299.