About
Maximilien de Robespierre, born in Arras in 1758, was one of the central figures of the French Revolution. A lawyer by training, he became a deputy of the Third Estate in 1789 and distinguished himself through speeches advocating universal male suffrage, the right to petition, and the abolition of slavery. Nicknamed 'the Incorruptible,' he dominated the Committee of Public Safety from 1793 to 1794, a period marked by the Reign of Terror. He was overthrown in the Thermidorian Reaction and guillotined in 1794.
* 1758-05-06 — † 1794-07-28
Major works
- Mémoire sur les peines infamantes (1784)memoir
- Discours sur les principes de morale politique (1794)speech
- Œuvres complètes de Maximilien Robespierre (1910-1967)collected works
Key milestones
- 1789Elected deputy of the Third Estate to the Estates-General.
- 1793Played a key role in the trial and execution of Louis XVI.
- 1794Overthrown in the Thermidorian Reaction and guillotined on July 28.
Themes
Democracy and popular sovereigntyTerror and revolutionary justiceVirtue and moral integrityEquality and abolition of slaveryReligion and the Cult of the Suprem
Sources: britannica.com · catalogue.bnf.fr · id.loc.gov