Unique baby name: Alfred Zola Labori Dreyfus

Here’s an interesting baby name I discovered not long ago: Alfred Zola Labori Dreyfus Hultgren. He was born on January 25, 1900, in Sweden.

Where do his four given names come from?

Alfred Dreyfus, Emile Zola, and Fernand Labori — all involved in the Dreyfus Affair.

[T]he Dreyfus Affair tore France apart, pitting Dreyfusards—committed to restoring freedom and honor to an innocent man convicted of a crime committed by another—against nationalists, anti-Semites, and militarists who preferred having an innocent man rot to exposing the crimes committed by ministers of war and the army’s top brass in order to secure Dreyfus’s conviction.

Alfred Dreyfus, a French army captain of Jewish descent, was unjustly convicted of treason in late 1894. He spent nearly five years at a penal colony on Devil’s Island before getting another trial in 1899. He wasn’t exonerated until 1906.

French writer Emile Zola accused the French government of antisemitism (among other things) in regards to Dreyfus’s case. He was found guilty of libel in February, 1898, so he fled to England to avoid imprisonment. Zola didn’t return to France until June, 1899.

Fernand Labori, a French attorney, represented Dreyfus at the second trial. He survived an assassination attempt (he was shot in the back) during this time.

Sources: Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters (book description), FamilySearch
Image: Alfred Dreyfus