It is shown that it is possible to construct a theory of the electron with an extended charge distribution in a Lorentz invariant way by introducing a four-dimensional form function. The electromagnetic field quantities reduce to those given by the ordinary theory at distances large compared with the electron radius
r
0
, but remain finite on the world line. The equations of motion, after elimination ’of the self field, become integro-differential equations. In the case of small accelerations an expansion in powers of
r
0
similar to that of Lorentz is obtained, in which only odd powers of
r
0
occur. The first term endows the electron with a mass component of electromagnetic origin. For accelerations small compared with the characteristic frequency l/
r
0
of the electron, the Lorentz-Dirac equations are a good approximation; for larger accelerations, higher terms become important.