Cause célèbre

2025-11-03T22:30:07Z

2607:EA00:107:3C07:7591:FF46:3FA2:B308: /* Examples */ Added Example of Marin Guerre, A peasant who absconded from his village and had his identity in that village stolen by a newcomer until he returned towards the end of a trial of the imposter's identity theft. This case generated two written accounts and became widely circulated.

{{Short description|Issue or incident that incites widespread controversy and public debate}}
{{other uses}}
{{italic title}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Excessive examples|date=April 2023}}
[[File:Tom Mooney and Angelo Herndon 1937 Edit.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|[[Tom Mooney]] and [[Angelo Herndon]] {{circa}} 1937. Both men became ''causes célèbres'' for the [[American Left]] in the first half of the [[20th century]].]]
A {{lang|fr|'''cause célèbre'''}} ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɔː|z|_|s|ə|ˈ|l|ɛ|b|(|r|ə|)|audio=en-us-cause-célèbre.ogg}} {{respell|KAWZ|_|sə|LEB(|rə)}},<ref name="Collins">{{Cite web |title=cause célèbre |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=TheFreeDictionary.com |language=en}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|koz selɛbʁ|lang}}; pl. '''''causes célèbres''''', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread [[controversy]], outside [[Advocacy|campaigning]], and heated [[public debate]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=cause célèbre |dictionary=The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy |edition=3rd |editor1-first=E. D. Jr. |editor1-last=Hirsch |editor2-first=Joseph F. |editor2-last=Kett |editor3-first=James |editor3-last=Trefil |date=2002 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |via=Bartleby.com |url=http://www.bartleby.com/59/4/causecelebre.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921150757/http://www.bartleby.com/59/4/causecelebre.html |archive-date=September 21, 2008 |title=Telecommunications Essay | Bartleby}}</ref> The term is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for their [[precedent]] value (each ''[[locus classicus]]'' or "case-in-point") and more often negatively for infamous ones, whether for scale, outrage, [[scandal]], or [[conspiracy theories]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=cause célèbre |dictionary=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |edition=4th |date=2000 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |via=Bartleby.com |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/31/C0173100.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803114311/http://www.bartleby.com/61/31/C0173100.html |archive-date=August 3, 2008 |title=Homework Help and Textbook Solutions | bartleby}}</ref> The term is a [[List of French phrases|French phrase]] in common usage in English. Since it has been fully adopted into English and is included unitalicized in English dictionaries,<ref name="AmHerit">{{Cite web |title=cause célèbre |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=TheFreeDictionary.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Collins" /><ref name="RandHouse">''Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary''. S.v. "cause célèbre." Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre</ref> it is not normally italicized despite its French origin.

It has been noted that the public attention given to a particular case or event can obscure the facts rather than clarify them. As [[John Humffreys Parry]] states, "The true story of many a cause célèbre is never made manifest in the evidence given or in the advocates' orations, but might be recovered from these old papers when the dust of ages has rendered them immune from scandal".<ref>[[John Humffreys Parry]], "''Whistler v. Ruskin'': An Attorney's Story of a Famous Trial", in ''The Living Age'' (January–March 1921), Vol. 308, p. 346.</ref>

== Etymology ==
In French, one of the meanings of {{lang|fr|cause}} is a [[legal case]], and {{lang|fr|célèbre}} means "famous". The phrase originated with the 37-volume {{lang|fr|Nouvelles Causes Célèbres}}, published in 1763, which was a collection of reports of well-known French court decisions from the 17th and 18th centuries.

While English speakers had used the phrase for many years, it came into much more common usage after the [[Dreyfus affair|1894 conviction]] of [[Alfred Dreyfus]] for [[espionage]] during the cementing of a period of deep cultural ties with a political tie between England and France, the [[Entente Cordiale]]. Both attracted worldwide interest and the period of closeness or [[rapprochement]] officially broadened the English language.

== Examples==

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|}}
* The murder of [[Edward the Martyr]], England, 978
* The [[Becket controversy]], England, 1163–1170
* The [[Tour de Nesle affair]], France, 1314
* King [[Edward IV of England]]'s marriage to [[Elizabeth Woodville#Queen consort|Elizabeth Woodville]], England, 1460s and 1470s
* The [[Princes in the Tower]], England, 1483
* The imposture of [[Martin Guerre]], France, 1560
* The [[murder of Lord Darnley]], Scotland, 1567
* The [[Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots|execution of Mary Stuart]], England, 1587
* The [[Gunpowder Plot]], England, 1605
* The execution of [[Robert-François Damiens]], France, 1757
* The [[Douglas Cause]], Great Britain, 1760s
* [[Ireland Shakespeare forgeries]], Great Britain, 1790s
* The [[Burr Conspiracy]] and ensuing [[show trial]], United States, 1805–1807
* The [[Marie Lafarge]] case, France, 1840
* The [[Parkman–Webster murder case]], United States, 1849–1850
* The [[Mortara case]], Papal States, 1850s and 1860s<ref>{{cite book|title=The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara|last=Kertzer|first=David I|author-link=David Kertzer|year=1998|orig-year=1997|location=New York|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=978-0-679-76817-3|pages=126–127}}</ref>
* The [[Tichborne case]], United Kingdom, 1860s and 1870s
* The [[Vera Zasulich#Trepov incident|Vera Zasulich trial]], Russia, 1878<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Joseph |editor-last=Bristow |title=Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4426-6570-5 |year=2013 |chapter=Reconsidering Wilde's ''Vera; or, The Nihilists'' |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctt4cgj7t |last=Miller |first=Elizabeth Carolyn |pages=65–84|jstor=10.3138/j.ctt4cgj7t }}</ref>
* The ''[[R v Dudley and Stephens]]'' cannibalism case, United Kingdom, 1884
* The [[Dreyfus affair]], France, 1890s and 1900s<ref>{{cite book|last=Sanderson|first=Edgar|title=Historic Parallels to L'affaire Dreyfus|year=1900|page=265|quote=The unique cause célèbre of the nineteenth century, L'Affaire Dreyfus, is conspicuous for every kind of wickedness that can be brought to bear against an innocent man.}}</ref>
* The murder trial of [[Lizzie Borden]], United States, 1893
* The libel trial of [[Oscar Wilde#Trials|Oscar Wilde]], United Kingdom, 1895
* The murder trial of [[Maria Barbella]], United States, 1895<ref>{{cite book |title=The rise of multicultural America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fr8WAQAAIAAJ&q=%22+the+notorious+1895+Maria+Barbella+case%22|publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]]|first=Susan L.|last=Mizruchi|author-link=Susan L. Mizruchi|year=2008|page=293|isbn=9780807832509}}</ref>
* The murder trial of [[Adolph Luetgert]], 1897
* The [[Brown Dog affair]], United Kingdom, 1900s
* The [[Los Angeles Times bombing|''Los Angeles Times'' bombing]], 1910
* The [[Menahem Mendel Beilis|Beilis case]], Russian Empire, 1913<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1RlmAQAAQBAJ |title=Blood Libel in Late Imperial Russia: The Ritual Murder Trial of Mendel Beilis |first=Robert |last=Weinberg |publisher=Indiana University Press |date=2013 |series=Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies |isbn=978-0-253-01114-5 |access-date=2015-07-15 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
* The [[Sacco and Vanzetti]] appeals, United States, 1920s
* The [[Charles Ponzi|Ponzi Scheme]], United States, 1923
* The [[Scopes Monkey Trial]], United States, 1925
* The [[St. Valentine's Day Massacre]], United States, 1929
* The [[Scottsboro Boys]] case, United States, 1931
* The [[Lindbergh kidnapping]], United States, 1932
* The [[Mrs Freer]] case, Australia, 1936
* The [[Port Chicago disaster]], United States, 1944
* The [[bombing of Dresden]], [[Germany]], 1945
* The [[Bhawal case]], India, 1946<ref>[http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/1946/1946_32.pdf Srimati Bibhabati Devi v Kumar Ramenda Narayan Roy and others (Fort William (Bengal)) (1946) UKPC 32 (30 July 1946)]</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bhawal_Case|title=Bhawal Case|last=Islam|first=Sirajul|encyclopedia=[[Banglapedia]]|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Chaudhuri|first=Supriya|title=The man who would be king|url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/lr/2002/10/06/stories/2002100600190300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419170742/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/lr/2002/10/06/stories/2002100600190300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 April 2018|access-date=23 January 2017|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=6 October 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Murad|last=Fyzee|title=A Prince, Poison and Two Funerals: The Bhowal Sanyasi Case|publisher=English Edition Publishers|year=2003|isbn=81-87853-32-8}}</ref>
* The [[Derek Bentley case]], United Kingdom, 1953
* The [[Petrov Affair]], Australia, 1954
* The shooting of [[William Woodward Jr.]] by his wife [[Ann Woodward]], United States, 1955
* The [[killing of Johnny Stompanato]], United States, 1958
* The [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]], United States, 1963
* The [[Tate-LaBianca murders]], United States, 1969
* The [[Soledad Brothers]] case, United States, 1970
* The [[Thorpe affair]], United Kingdom, 1970s
* The [[Watergate scandal]], United States, 1972–1974
* The [[John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan|disappearance of Lord Lucan]], United Kingdom, 1974
* [[Ted Bundy]]'s impending trial in Aspen, 1977<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Stranger Beside Me |title-link=The Stranger Beside Me |first=Ann |last=Rule |author-link=Ann Rule |year=2000 |publisher=Norton |isbn=0393050297 |edition=Updated 20th anniversary |location=New York |oclc=44110374}}</ref>
* The [[Jonestown#Deaths in Jonestown|Jonestown Cult Suicide]], Guyana, 1978
* The trials of [[Claus von Bülow]], United States, 1982–1985
* The [[Đorđe Martinović incident]], Yugoslavia, 1985<ref>{{Cite book|last=LeBor|first=Adam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Om0OViTwCtkC|title=Milosevic: A Biography|date=2003-08-04|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-7475-6181-1|language=en}}</ref>
* The [[murder of the Goldmark family]], United States, 1985
* The [[Rodney King|Rodney King beating]], United States, 1991<ref>{{cite web |first=Carol Bengle |last=Gilbert |date=May 1, 2012 |title=Rodney King: Before and After the Traffic Stop that Inflamed L.A. |website=Yahoo News |url=https://news.yahoo.com/rodney-king-traffic-stop-inflamed-l-162500101.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302015905/http://news.yahoo.com/rodney-king-traffic-stop-inflamed-l-162500101.html |archive-date=March 2, 2014}}</ref>
* The [[murder of Shanda Sharer]], United States, 1992
* The [[Peter Ellis (childcare worker)|Peter Ellis trial]], New Zealand, 1993
* The [[murder of Stephen Lawrence]], London, 1993–2015
* [[O. J. Simpson murder case]], United States, 1994–1995<ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Sowell |author-link=Thomas Sowell |title=The Quest for Cosmic Justice |date=June 30, 2001 |orig-year=1999 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |oclc=898484807 |isbn=978-0-7432-1507-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5eU2KN9ChnEC&pg=PA19 |page=19 |quote=A more recent cause célèbre of the American criminal justice system was the murder trial of former football star O.J. Simpson, which provoked widespread consternation, not only because of its "not guilty" verdict in the face of massive evidence to the contrary, but also because of the sheer length of time that the trial took.}}</ref>
* The [[Terri Schiavo case]], United States, 1998–2005
* [[David Camm]], United States, 2000
* The [[Bain family murders]], New Zealand, 2004
* The [[Amanda Knox]] trials, Italy, 2009–2015<ref name="Amanda Knox">{{cite web|last1=Barry|first1=Colleen|date=September 30, 2013|title=New Amanda Knox trial under way in Florence|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/30/new-amanda-knox-trial-under-way-in-florence/2894425/|website=USA Today|access-date=9 July 2014}}</ref>
* [[Sergei Magnitsky]]'s death, Russia, 2009<ref name=Sunday>{{cite news |title=Dying in Agony: His Reward for Solving a $230 Million Fraud |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times]] |date=November 14, 2010}}</ref>
* [[Mohamed Bouazizi]]'s self-immolation, Tunisia, 2010<ref>{{Cite news|last=Amara|first=Tarek|date=2011-01-06|title=Tunisian lawyers strike, civil unrest continues|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-tunisia-protests-idUKTRE7054CB20110106|access-date=2021-06-16}}</ref>
* The [[Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority|Julian Assange]] extradition, United Kingdom, 2011<ref>{{cite web |first1=Jeff |last1=Sparrow |first2=Elizabeth |last2=O'Shea |date=December 7, 2010 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41914.html |title=Open letter: To Julia Gillard, re Julian Assange |website=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=2015-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505063342/http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41914.html |archive-date=May 5, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The [[Pussy Riot]] trial, Russia, 2012<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/how_to_become_a_cause_celebre_a_guide_for_political_prisoners/14460 |title=How to become a cause célèbre: a guide for political prisoners |first=Brendan |last=O'Neill |website=spiked |publisher=Spiked Ltd |date=2013-12-24 |access-date=2015-07-15}}</ref>
* The [[2012 Delhi gang rape|Delhi gang rape]], India, 2012<ref name="dailyo">{{cite web |last=Harikrishnan |first=Charmy |title=India's Daughter: Why we should watch Leslee Udwin's documentary |url=http://www.dailyo.in/politics/leslee-udwin-indias-daughter-nirbhaya-december-16-2012-delhi-gang-rape/story/1/2379.html |website=Daily O |publisher=India Today Group |date=2015-03-04 |access-date=2016-11-04}}</ref><ref name="libertarianhome">{{cite web |last=Gibb |first=Simon |title=The Delhi Gang Rape Incident|url=http://libertarianhome.co.uk/2012/12/the-delhi-gang-rape/ |website=Libertarian Home |date=2012-12-30 |access-date=2016-11-04}}</ref>
* The [[Causeway Bay Books disappearances]], China, 2015
* The [[assassination of Marielle Franco]], Brazil, 2018
* The [[assassination of Jamal Khashoggi]], Turkey, 2018
* The [[2018 Japan–South Korea radar lock-on dispute|Sea of Japan radar targeting incident]], Japan and South Korea, 2018
* The [[murder of George Floyd]], United States, 2020
* The [[murder of Sarah Everard]], United Kingdom, 2021
* The [[Jacob Zuma contempt of court|arrest of Jacob Zuma]], South Africa, 2021
* The trial of [[Kyle Rittenhouse]] after the [[Kenosha unrest shooting]], United States, 2021<ref>{{Cite news|last=Barrett|first=Joe|date=2020-09-01|title=Kyle Rittenhouse, Charged With Killing Two in Kenosha, Sees Strong Fundraising Support|language=en|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/kyle-rittenhouse-charged-with-killing-two-in-kenosha-emerges-as-a-cause-celebre-to-some-11598998441|access-date=2022-07-10}}</ref>
* ''[[Depp v. Heard]]'', United States, 2022
* The [[murder of Moïse Mugenyi Kabagambe]], Brazil, 2022
* The [[death of Mahsa Amini]], Iran, 2022
* The [[murder of Brianna Ghey]], United Kingdom, 2023
* The [[killing of Brian Thompson]], United States, 2024
* The [[killing of Austin Metcalf]], United States, 2025
* The [[assassination of Charlie Kirk]], United States, 2025

== Fictional examples ==

* The death of [[Jean Maximilien Lamarque|General Lamarque]] in ''[[Les Misérables]]'' (1832)
* The [[prison riot]] in ''[[Natural Born Killers]]'' (1994)

== See also ==
* [[Trial of the century]]
* [[Lists of landmark court decisions]]
* [[List of French expressions in English]]
* [[Media circus]]
* [[Missing white woman syndrome]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Wiktionary-inline|cause célèbre}}
* {{Wikinews inline|Category:Causes célèbres}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cause celebre}}
[[Category:1760s neologisms]]
[[Category:Legal terminology]]
[[Category:Public opinion]]
[[Category:Social influence]]

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Cause célèbre