About
François-Noël Babeuf, known as Gracchus Babeuf, was born on November 23, 1760, in Saint-Quentin. A feudal land-title commissioner in the 1780s, he founded journals such as Le Tribun du Peuple to spread his egalitarian ideas. He advocated the abolition of private property and the equal distribution of land and income. In 1796, he led the Conspiracy of the Equals, a plot to overthrow the Directory. Betrayed, he was arrested, tried, and guillotined at Vendôme on May 27, 1797. His ideas and conspiratorial model influenced later socialist and communist movements.
* 1760-11-23 — † 1797-05-27
Major works
- Le Tribun du Peuple (1794)newspaper
- Le Correspondant Picardnewspaper
Key milestones
- 1796Led the Conspiracy of the Equals, an insurrectionary plot against the Directory.
- 1797Executed by guillotine at Vendôme on May 27.
Themes
EgalitarianismCritique of private propertyRevolutionSocial justicePolitical conspiracy
Sources: britannica.com · larousse.fr · multimedia-ext.bnf.fr