[1] In 1870 he was at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, but enlisted in the army, and was wounded and taken prisoner in 1871 (during the Franco-Prussian War).

In 1874 he became professor of philosophy, and translated several works of Herbert Spencer and of Schopenhauer into French.

[2] His extraordinary aptitude for work secured for him the position of chef de cabinet under Paul Bert, the minister of education, in 1880s.

[2] The budget report presented to the Chamber of Deputies on 4 December 1891 by Auguste Burdeau was one of the major events in French policy discussions on Algeria.

During his two-hour speech, he provided a more general analysis of French policy in Algeria.