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An important period in the history of French geography, the 1870s were not, however, a watershed. This is illustrated by the intellectual trajectory of Émile Levasseur. A liberal polymath, he contributed to the recognition of geography. He made the case for its usefulness to schoolchildren and economic actors seeking to exploit the earth's resources. He advocated reform of school curricula and developed the field of economic geography. He thus made a contribution to the intellectual trends and university teaching of geography, which would benefit geographers at the time of Vidal.