Emile Durkheim Timeline

(April 15, 1858 – November 15, 1917)

Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) was a pioneering French sociologist widely regarded as one of the principal architects of modern social science. He established the first European department of sociology, founded the journal L'Année Sociologique, and developed influential theories on social facts, collective consciousness, and the role of institutions in maintaining social cohesion. More Less

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Early Life and Education

Family background and siblings

1845

Durkheim's parents had four other children besides Émile: Israël (1845–1846), Rosine (1848–1930), Félix (1850–1889), and Céline (1851–1931). The family belonged to a long lineage of devout Alsatian Jews.

Image source: Émile Durkheim

Birth of David Émile Durkheim

Apr 15, 1858

David Émile Durkheim was born on April 15, 1858 in Épinal, Lorraine, France, to Mélanie (Isidor) and Moïse Durkheim, coming into a long lineage of devout Alsatian Jews. He would grow up to become one of France's most influential sociologists.

Enters the École normale supérieure

1879

A precocious student, Durkheim entered the École normale supérieure (ENS) in 1879 at his third attempt. The entering class that year was one of the most brilliant of the nineteenth century, including classmates such as Jean Jaurès and Henri Bergson who went on to become major figures in French intellectual history.

Image source: École normale supérieure (Paris)

Obtains agrégation in philosophy

1882

Durkheim obtained his agrégation in philosophy in 1882, though he finished next to last in his graduating class owing to serious illness the year before.

Teaches philosophy at provincial schools

1882 - 1887

From 1882 to 1887, Durkheim taught philosophy at several provincial schools in France, gaining experience as an educator while developing his ideas about a new science of society.

Studies sociology in Germany

1885 - 1886

In the 1885-6 school year Durkheim visited Germany, where he travelled and studied sociology at the universities of Marburg, Berlin and Leipzig, deepening his commitment to establishing sociology as a rigorous academic discipline.

Marries Louise Dreyfus

1887

In 1887, Durkheim married Louise Dreyfus, beginning a family life alongside his growing academic career.

Death of son André on the war front

Dec 1915

Durkheim's own son, André, died on the war front in December 1915—a loss from which Durkheim never recovered, leaving him emotionally devastated during World War I.

Death of Émile Durkheim

Nov 15, 1917

Emotionally devastated by the loss of his son, Durkheim collapsed of a stroke in Paris on November 15, 1917, ending a career that had founded French sociology as an academic discipline.

Major Works

Drafts The Division of Labour in Society

1886

By 1886, as part of his doctoral dissertation, Durkheim had completed the draft of The Division of Labour in Society and was working towards establishing the new science of sociology.

Image source: The Division of Labour in Society

Publication of The Division of Labour in Society

1893

In 1893, Durkheim published De la division du travail social (The Division of Labour in Society), his doctoral dissertation and fundamental statement of the nature of human society and its development, and his first major sociological work.

Publication of The Rules of Sociological Method

1895

In 1895, Durkheim published Les Règles de la méthode sociologique (The Rules of Sociological Method), a manifesto stating what sociology is and how it ought to be done. In it, he expressed his desire to establish a method that would guarantee sociology's truly scientific character.

Image source: The Rules of Sociological Method

Publication of Suicide

1897

In 1897, Durkheim published Le Suicide, a seminal monograph studying suicide rates in Roman Catholic and Protestant populations. He explored differing suicide rates among Protestants and Roman Catholics, arguing that stronger social control among Roman Catholics results in lower suicide rates. It pioneered modern social research, distinguishing social science from psychology and political philosophy.

Image source: Suicide (Durkheim book)

Publication of The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

1912

In 1912, Durkheim published his last major work, Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse (The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life). It presented a theory of religion comparing the social and cultural lives of aboriginal and modern societies, identifying the social origin and function of religion as a source of camaraderie and solidarity.

Image source: The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

Sociology of knowledge in Elementary Forms

1912

While publishing short articles on the subject earlier in his career, Durkheim's definitive statement concerning the sociology of knowledge came in his 1912 magnum opus, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, where he argued that collective representations add to personal experience all the wisdom and science the group has accumulated over centuries.

Image source: Sociology of knowledge

Career and Academic Positions

Teaching appointment at University of Bordeaux

1887

Durkheim's articles gained recognition in France, and he received a teaching appointment in the University of Bordeaux in 1887, where he was to teach the university's first social science course.

Image source: University of Bordeaux

The Dreyfus affair strengthens his activism

1894

The Dreyfus affair of 1894 only strengthened Durkheim's activist stance, drawing him further into public intellectual debates in France.

Image source: Dreyfus affair

Founds first European department of sociology

1895

Also in 1895, Durkheim set up the first European department of sociology at the University of Bordeaux and became France's first professor of sociology, marking a milestone for the discipline's institutionalization.

Founds L'Année sociologique

1898

In 1898, Durkheim established L'Année sociologique, the first French social science journal, which became a vehicle for promoting sociological research and gathering collaborators around his ideas.

Image source: L'Année sociologique

Chair of education at the Sorbonne

1902

By 1902, Durkheim had finally achieved his goal of attaining a prominent position in Paris when he became the chair of education at the Sorbonne, moving from his long tenure at Bordeaux.

Tarde-Durkheim debate of 1903

1903

In the Tarde-Durkheim debate of 1903, Gabriel Tarde's 'anthropological view' of society was ridiculed and hastily dismissed, cementing Durkheim's approach as dominant in French social science.

Image source: Gabriel Tarde

Becomes full professor at the Sorbonne

1906

In 1906, Durkheim became a full professor at the Sorbonne, specifically Professor of the Science of Education, consolidating his influence over French educational thought.

Named chair of Education and Sociology

1913

In 1913, Durkheim was named chair in 'Education and Sociology' at the Sorbonne, formally uniting the two fields under his leadership.

Legacy and Influence

Dominant force in French intellectual life

1902 - 1917

Durkheim remained a dominant force in French intellectual life until his death in 1917, presenting numerous lectures and publishing works on a variety of topics, including the sociology of knowledge, morality, social stratification, religion, law, education, and deviance.

Margaret Gilbert's On Social Facts

1989

In her 1989 book On Social Facts—the title of which may represent an homage to Durkheim, alluding to his 'faits sociaux'—Gilbert argues that some of his statements that may seem philosophically untenable are important and fruitful.

Berk questions micro-macro relations

2006

More recent authors such as Berk (2006) have questioned the micro–macro relations underlying Durkheim's work, continuing scholarly debate about the foundations of his sociological method.

Key Facts

Durkheim was born in Épinal, France, in 1858 into a family of Jewish rabbis, though he chose a secular academic path instead of following the religious tradition.
In 1887, he became the first professor of social science in France at the University of Bordeaux, helping to establish sociology as an official academic discipline.
His 1893 doctoral thesis, 'The Division of Labor in Society,' introduced concepts such as mechanical and organic solidarity to explain how societies maintain cohesion.
In his landmark work 'Suicide' (1897), Durkheim demonstrated that even highly personal acts like suicide are shaped by social forces, coining terms like anomie.
His final major work, 'The Elementary Forms of Religious Life' (1912), argued that religion is a fundamentally social phenomenon rooted in collective rituals and shared symbols.

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