Alfred Dreyfus (French: [al.fʁɛd dʁɛ.fys]; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish background whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most tense political dramas in modern European history. Known today as the Dreyfus Affair, the incident eventually ended with Dreyfus' complete exoneration.