Iris de Rode Biography – A Letter Washington Signed

Iris de Rode is a Dutch historian who uncovered the private papers of French Major General François-Jean de Chastellux. This Iris de Rode biography follows her path from the Netherlands to a discovery that reshaped American Revolution research.

Iris de Rode Biography and Career Facts

Early Life in the Netherlands and France: Iris de Rode

Iris de Rode grew up moving between the Netherlands and France. That dual upbringing gave her early exposure to French language and culture, a foundation that later shaped her entire research career.

She built on that background at the University of Amsterdam, where she earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in history. Her academic interests soon narrowed toward French history and the eighteenth century, a period that would define her later work.

How Iris de Rode Started a Career in Revolutionary War History

De Rode moved to Paris to pursue doctoral research at Université de Paris VIII. She earned her Ph.D. in the history of international relations there in November 2019, working under phd supervisor Bertrand Van Ruymbeke.

While completing her doctorate, she taught as an assistant professor at Paris VIII and at SciencesPo Paris. Public records show she held this teaching role from 2013 to 2022, giving her nearly a decade of classroom experience in French and transatlantic history before she moved fully into research and public history work.

Iris de Rode’s Discovery of the Chastellux Archive

The center of de Rode’s career is a single archival find. At the Château de Chastellux in Burgundy, she uncovered more than 6,000 unpublished papers belonging to Major General François-Jean de Chastellux, a French officer who served under Rochambeau during the Revolutionary War.

Chastellux was a cousin of the Marquis de Lafayette and a close friend of George Washington. His private letters, diaries, and military reports had sat unexamined for over two centuries before de Rode’s research brought them to light.

Her dissertation carried the French title “François-Jean de Chastellux (1734-1788): un soldat-philosophe dans le monde atlantique à l’époque des Lumières.” The phrase describes Chastellux as a soldier-philosopher shaped by the ideas of the Enlightenment, a fitting label for a man who moved between the battlefield and the salons of Paris.

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De Rode’s archive includes a military order signed by George Washington, a letter from Chastellux to a fellow scholar, and firsthand material connected to the 1781 route to Yorktown. This paper trail lets historians trace decisions made by French and American officers in real time, rather than relying only on published memoirs written after the war.

Iris de Rode’s Major Achievements and Public Recognition

De Rode adapted her dissertation into a full biography of Chastellux, published by Éditions Honoré Champion in 2022. The Académie Française awarded the book the Prix Guizot, an honor for the year’s best history book, and the work also received recognition from the Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Her research has been supported by more than twenty fellowships. These include stays at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the American Philosophical Society, the American Revolution Institute, the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, Campus France, and the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds.

De Rode has appeared as a guest speaker at institutions tied directly to her research subject. She delivered a lecture at the Society of the Cincinnati’s Anderson House, later published on C-SPAN as part of its America 250 series, and gave an earlier public talk at Mount Vernon in 2019 while still a doctoral candidate.

In 2024, she published the article “Finding the American Revolution in France: François-Jean de Chastellux’s Private Papers and Beyond” in the journal Early American Studies. She is currently working on a new English-language book about Chastellux, Washington, and the French-American alliance, planned for release through the University of Virginia Press.

Iris de Rode’s Personal Life and Public Profile

De Rode keeps most personal details private, which is common among academic historians who build their public profile around research rather than personal life. Public information about her personal life outside academia remains limited.

Her current fellowship placed her close to archives and historic sites central to her work, including Mount Vernon and the American Philosophical Society’s collections in Philadelphia.

Iris de Rode’s Place Among Historians of the American Revolution

Most popular accounts of the American Revolution focus on well-known figures like Washington, Lafayette, and Rochambeau. De Rode’s research adds a different layer by centering a French officer whose private records had never been studied.

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Her work sits at the intersection of French and American and transatlantic history, a niche that few historians occupy with this level of archival depth. Winning the Prix Guizot placed her among a small group of historians recognized by the Académie Française for original research grounded in primary sources rather than secondary retellings.

Why Iris de Rode’s Chastellux Discovery Still Draws Biography Searches

Readers search for Iris de Rode because her work changes how people understand a familiar story. The American Revolution gets retold constantly through American and British sources, but her research adds a French perspective built on original letters and reports.

As the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches, her ongoing English-language book and her role at the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy keep her research relevant to a wider audience. Her career shows how one archival find in a French château can still reshape how historians describe events from 1781.

Editorial Note: This article draws on Iris de Rode’s official website, university and institutional profiles, published lectures, and academic citations. Some personal details remain private, and this article does not speculate beyond what public sources confirm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Iris de Rode?

Iris de Rode is a Dutch historian known for discovering the private papers of French Major General François-Jean de Chastellux, a key figure in the American Revolution.

Where was Iris de Rode raised?

De Rode grew up moving between the Netherlands and France, which shaped her early interest in French language and history.

What is Iris de Rode known for?

She is best known for finding more than 6,000 unpublished papers belonging to François-Jean de Chastellux at his family château in Burgundy, France.

What is Iris de Rode’s education?

She earned a B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Amsterdam and a Ph.D. from Université de Paris VIII in 2019.

What awards has Iris de Rode won?

Her 2022 book on Chastellux won the Prix Guizot from the Académie Française, along with recognition from the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution.

Where does Iris de Rode work now?

She currently serves as the Gibson Postdoctoral Fellow at the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia.