The article is dedicated to the memory of the French historian Marcel Dorigny, who died last year. The author was familiar with him. Dorigny was one of the world’s foremost experts on the history of modern colonialism, mainly French, and on the struggle to abolish slavery. The article traces the creative path of the historian, his search for his own theme, from the classical topics of the historiography of the French Revolution of the 18th century to the study of colonial issues. The author proves that the approaches of Marcel Dorigny to these studies demonstrate not only his scientific interest, but also the civic temperament of a historian who sincerely sympathized with the struggle of the peoples of the colonies for liberation. Along with a story about the research of Dorigny, the article contains the author’s memoirs about personal meetings with the historian.
