Georges Connes (1890-1976)

After having fought in World War I, this agrégé of English entered the University of Dijon in 1924, where he became a professor thanks to his work on Shakespeare and on H. G. Wells. He fostered relations with the United States by hosting two American doctoral students from 1929 to 1931 and by teaching on the other side of the Atlantic from 1934 to 1935. Owing to his role in the Resistance, he became mayor of Dijon from September 1944 until the elections in the spring of 1945, when he chose to return to the University.