Iris de Rode Wikipedia, Biography, Age, Husband, Books, Education, Career, Net Worth, Family

Admin November 24, 2025

Iris de Rode is a Dutch historian whose scholarship focuses on the French participation in the American Revolution and the broader Franco-American alliance in the late 18th century. She completed her PhD at Université de Paris VIII in November 2019, with a dissertation examining François‑Jean de Chastellux (1734-1788) — a French soldier-philosopher in the Atlantic world during the Enlightenment.

Her work extends beyond academia into public history and heritage preservation: she has held over twenty fellowships at institutions such as American Philosophical Society and is engaged in initiatives with the National Park Service and other transatlantic cultural organizations.

At the Karsh Institute of Democracy at University of Virginia she holds the position of Gibson Postdoctoral Fellow in Democracy, where she helps develop public programming tied to the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

Her published work includes a critically acclaimed biography of Chastellux, which earned the Prix Guizot of the Académie Française for the best history book of the year in 2023. She is currently working on an English-language book about the French role in the American Revolution and remains active in teaching transatlantic history, including past appointments at Sciences Po in Paris.

Age

Precise public information about Iris de Rode’s date of birth is not readily available in the sources consulted. What is known: she earned her PhD in November 2019 from the Université de Paris VIII. Given standard academic timelines, one might infer a birth year in the late 1980s or early 1990s, but without confirmation, this remains speculative.

Early Life and Family

Early Life

Iris de Rode was raised between the Netherlands and France. Her early upbringing in both countries gave her a bilingual and bicultural foundation which later proved beneficial for her trans-Atlantic historical research.
She studied history at the University of Amsterdam (Bachelor and Master) before moving to France for doctoral studies.

Family

Publicly available information provides limited details about her family background, such as parents or siblings. The narrative emphasises her geographical upbringing between the Netherlands and France, but specific familial names or occupations are not widely published.

Education

Bachelor’s and Master’s

Iris de Rode completed her undergraduate (B.A.) and master’s (M.A.) degrees in History at the University of Amsterdam.

Doctorate (PhD)

She earned her PhD in History of International Relations from Université de Paris VIII in November 2019. Her dissertation was titled François-Jean de Chastellux (1734-1788): Un soldat-philosophe dans le monde atlantique à l’époque des Lumières.
The doctoral research was based on a remarkable archival discovery at Château de Chastellux in Burgundy, France, of more than 6,000 unpublished papers of Chastellux, which formed the core of her work.

Career

Academic and Research Roles

Upon completing her PhD, Iris de Rode has held several academic and fellowship positions. She taught American and trans-Atlantic history at Sciences Po Paris (and Reims) as an adjunct faculty member starting in 2013.
She is currently the David and Linda Gibson Postdoctoral Fellow in Democracy at the Karsh Institute of Democracy at UVA, where she is developing public programming tied to the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

Research Focus

De Rode’s research focuses on the often-overlookooked French involvement in the American Revolution beyond Lafayette and Rochambeau, exploring intellectual, scientific, military, and diplomatic networks. Her publication on Chastellux is considered groundbreaking for revealing how French officers engaged in cultural and scientific exchange with Americans, not just combat.

Fellowships and Public Engagement

She has received more than twenty research fellowships from prestigious institutions including George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the American Philosophical Society, and the Society of the Cincinnati.
Moreover, she works in public history: collaborating with the National Park Service, the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association, the Philadelphia Museum of the American Revolution, and the French Embassy in Washington D.C.

Publications and Awards

Her biography of Chastellux (published 2022) by Éditions Honoré Champion earned the Prix Guizot of the Académie Française, awarded for the best history book of the year.
She is currently working on a forthcoming English-language book titled En Route to Revolution (or variations of that title) to reach international audiences.

Books

Major-Works

François-Jean de Chastellux (1734-1788): Un soldat-philosophe dans le monde atlantique à l’époque des Lumières (Éditions Honoré Champion, 2022) — based on her dissertation; awarded the Prix Guizot.
Co-author of Le Journal de Dumas (16 juin-6 octobre 1781): Sur les traces de l’indépendance des États-Unis (2018) with Prof. Bertrand van Ruymbeke.

Forthcoming Works

An English-language book (working title En Route to Revolution or Military Enlightenment on the Ground) scheduled for publication by University of Virginia Press.

Themes and Impact

Her books emphasise archival recovery (6,000+ unpublished pages from Chastellux’s archive), cross-national exchanges (military, intellectual, scientific), and how the French-American relationship during the Revolution was more than bullets and battles — it was knowledge transfer and Enlightenment networks.

Net Worth

There is no credible publicly available information about Iris de Rode’s net worth. As an academic, her income likely stems from teaching, fellowships, research grants, and publications rather than commercial enterprise. Without reliable financial disclosures, any figure would be speculative and cannot be confirmed.

Husband / Personal Life

Partner

According to her official biography, in 2023 Iris de Rode and her partner, André Nakazawa, moved from Paris to Washington D.C. to be closer to archives and historic sites central to her work.
The term “partner” suggests they may not be formally married, or that the sources choose this more neutral term. No further public details of marriage, spouse status, or children have been found.

Personal Life & Relocation

Her relocation to Washington D.C. in 2023 positions her personally and professionally at the heart of her research area. The move underscores a blending of personal life decisions with professional commitments.

Language and Cultural Competence

Raised between the Netherlands and France, Iris de Rode is fully bilingual in Dutch and French and works fluently in English. This multilingual skill set enhances her ability to work within French, Dutch and American archives.

Teaching & Mentoring

From 2013 onwards, she taught at Sciences Po (Paris & Reims), bringing American and trans-Atlantic history to French students. Her teaching continues to emphasise the intersections of Enlightenment thought, military history and diplomacy.

Public History & Outreach

Beyond academia, she actively engages with museums, historic sites and heritage organisations, translating scholarly work into public education. She has featured on historical podcasts and participates in heritage-based programming across Europe and the United States.

Awards & Recognition

Prix Guizot, Académie Française, for the best history book of the year 2023.
Short-term fellowship at the American Philosophical Society’s David Center for the American Revolution (2023-24).

Conclusion

In an era when popular narratives of the American Revolution often highlight the familiar names — Washington, Lafayette, Rochambeau — Dr. Iris de Rode’s scholarship invites us to look deeper into the transnational, intellectual and military networks that underpinned those events. Her archival discovery of thousands of pages of previously unpublished material on François-Jean de Chastellux has significantly enriched how historians and the public understand the French role in the American Revolution.