Maximilien Robespierre was born in northern France on May 6, 1758. Everything was in plush velvet, rich furs of bears, tigers and lions and silk table runners. Henceforth, he spoke only at the Jacobin Club, where he was to be heard about 100 times, until August 1792. Edit. In the orgy of bloodshed, Robespierre was able to eliminate many of his political opponents. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. He quickly attracted attention in an assembly that included some distinguished names. He denounced the secret intrigues of the court and of the royalists, their collusion with Austria, the unpreparedness of the army, and the possible treason of aristocratic officers whose dismissal he demanded in February 1792. A year later, he participated in writing the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, the foundation of the French constitution. Maximilien de Robespierre was a radical Jacobin leader and one of the principal figures in the French Revolution. Robespierre reached the height of his power under the National Convention. He was meticulous in dress, always wearing a cravat and a spare in case t… He served as president from 1959 to 1969. After the flight of Louis XVI (June 20–21, 1791), for which Robespierre vainly demanded his trial, the slanders against the Revolutionary deputy became twice as violent. When the National Assembly dissolved itself, the people of Paris organized a triumphal procession for Robespierre. In 1791, Robespierre became an outspoken advocate for the citizens without a political voice, for their unrestricted admission to the National Guard, to public offices, and for … In the film, The Force Awakens, it is seeking to obtain absolute control over the galaxy. In 1799, a military coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the Directory and established him as the first consul, with dictatorial powers. History Talk (0) Share. Robespierre soon took on a public role, calling for political change in the French monarchy. On 5 September, Danton argued for a law to give the sans-culottes a small compensation for attending the twice weekly section meetings, and to provide a gun to every citizen. Grounded in ancient history and the works of the French philosophers of the Enlightenment, he welcomed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which formed the preamble of the French constitution of September 3, 1791, and he insisted that all laws should conform to it. Robespierre received a law degree from the Collège Louis-le-Grand in Paris, France, and practiced law in Arras. He hastened the vote on the constitution so as to attract “as many of the democratic party as possible,” inviting in his Adresse aux Français (July 1791; Address to the French) the patriots to join forces. Robespierre and his three younger siblings were brought up by diverse relatives after their father dramatically lost his way in life after the death of his wife in childbirth in 1767. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership. In the latter months of 1793 he came to dominate the Committee of Public Safety, the principal organ of the Revolutionary government during the Reign of Terror, but in 1794 he was overthrown and executed in the Thermidorian Reaction. Stories, both long and short. As a student training to be a lawyer, he became an advocate of Jean Jacques Rousseau. The Reign of Terror took place between September 5, 1793, and July 27, 1794. In April 1789, Robespierre was elected president of the powerful Jacobin political faction. Maximilien Robespierre lost his head—literally. Please select which sections you would like to print: Corrections? Robespierre, his life threatened, went to live with the family of the cabinetmaker Maurice Duplay. There he opposed the European war that Jacques-Pierre Brissot was advocating as a means of spreading the aims of the Revolution. Seeing an opportunity, Maximilien Robespierre, the leader of the Jacobins, harnessed the fury of the sans-culottes to take control of the convention, banish the Girondins, and install the Jacobins in power. Maximilien Robespierre (Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre) was born on May 6th, 1758, in Arras where his father was based as an advocate. Thus he began his political career at the age of 30. Robespierre and his three younger siblings were brought up by diverse relatives after their father dramatically lost his way in life after the death of his wife in childbirth in 1767. In the latter months of 1793, he came to dominate the Committee of Public Safety, the principal organ of the Revolutionary government during the Reign of Terror, but in 1794 he was overthrown and guillotined. When the summoning of the Estates-General (a national assembly that had not been called since 1614) was announced, he issued an appeal entitled À la nation artésienne sur la nécessité de réformer les Etats d’Artois (“To the People of Artois on the Necessity of Reforming the Estates of Artois”). He became increasingly popular with the people for his attacks on the French monarchy and his advocacy for democratic reforms. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The Girondins—who favoured political but not social democracy and who controlled the government and the civil service—accused Robespierre of dictatorship from the first sessions of the National Convention. Neither regrets nor friendships could save the victims of the “sea-green Incorruptible,” as Carlyle calls him; the closest relations had bound him to Danton, but he declared, “If my friend is culpable, I will sacrifice him to the Republic.” Martial law was proclaimed, and at the Champ-de-Mars the national guard—under the command of the marquis de Lafayette, a moderate who wanted to save the monarchy—opened fire on a group demanding the abdication of the king. He was admitted to the Arras Academy in 1783 and soon became its chancellor and later its president. Maximilien Robespierre began his political career in 1789, when he was elected to represent the Third Estate of Artois in the pre-Revolutionary Estates-General. Maximilien Robespierre, also a Jacobin, strongly pleaded against war with Prussia and Austria – but in the Jacobin Club, not in the Assembly where he was not seated. Robespierre briefly presided over the influential Jacobin Club, a political club based in Paris. On July 27, 1794, Robespierre and many of his allies were arrested and taken to prison. Robespierre was the son of a lawyer in Arras. He also defended patriotic soldiers, such as those of the Châteauvieux regiment, who had been imprisoned after their mutiny at Nancy. Maximilien de Robespierre was a radical Jacobin leader and one of the principal figures in the French Revolution. He fought for universal suffrage, for unrestricted admission to the national guard, to public offices, and to the commissioned ranks of the army, and for the right to petition. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Young Maximilien was educated in Paris, graduating from the Lycée Louis-le-Grand and earning a law degree in 1781. Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre was born on May 6, 1758, in Arras, France. When he received word that the National Convention had declared him an outlaw, he tried to commit suicide but succeeded only in wounding his jaw. The treason of General Charles Dumouriez, who went over to the Austrians, precipitated the crisis. The reverses suffered by the French army after France had declared war on Austria and Prussia had been foreseen by Robespierre, and, when invasion threatened, the people rallied to him. To this very day, he remains one of the most controversial figures in the history of France and Europe. The next day Robespierre and 21 of his followers were taken to the Place de la Révolution (now the Place de la Concorde), where they were executed by guillotine before a cheering crowd. Former Secretary, Commission for the Economic and Social History of the French Revolution. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. He managed to keep the Jacobin Club alive after all of its moderate members had joined a rival club. Maximilien Robespierre (Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre) was born on May 6th, 1758, in Arras where his father was based as an advocate. In October he was appointed a judge of the Versailles tribunal. His mother died when he was only six and his father, a lawyer, abandoned the family soon afterward. The next day, he and 21 of his allies were executed at the guillotine. The children were raised by their maternal grandparents. Questions and answers about Maximilien Robespierre. Thompson, Robespierre , 1934, vol. In 1804, Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor of France. Robespierre received a law degree from the Collège Louis-le-Grand in Paris, France, and practiced law in Arras. Maximilien Robespierre. 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