Maximilien de Robespierre

Maximilien Robespierre
c. 1790, Musée Carnavalet
Member of the Committee of Public Safety
In office 27 July 1793 – 27 July 1794
Preceded by	Thomas-Augustin de Gasparin
Succeeded by	Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne
In office 25 March 1793 – 3 April 1793 Member of Committee of General Defence
24th President of the National Convention
In office 4 June 1794 – 19 June 1794
Preceded by	Claude-Antoine Prieur-Duvernois
Succeeded by	Élie Lacoste
In office 22 August 1793 – 7 September 1793
Preceded by	Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles
Succeeded by	Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varenne
Deputy of the National Convention
In office 20 September 1792 – 27 July 1794
Constituency	Paris
Deputy of the National Constituent Assembly
In office 9 July 1789 – 30 September 1791
Constituency	Artois
Deputy of the National Assembly
In office 17 June 1789 – 9 July 1789
Constituency	Artois
Deputy to the Estates General for the Third Estate
In office 6 May 1789 – 16 June 1789
Constituency	Artois
President of the Jacobin Club
In office 31 March – 3 June 1790
In office 7 August – 28 August 1793
Personal details
Born	Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (1758-05-06)6 May 1758 Arras, Artois, Kingdom of France
Died	10 Thermidor, Year II 28 July 1794(1794-07-28) (aged 36) Place de la Révolution, Paris
Cause of death	Execution by guillotine
Political party	The Mountain (1792–1794)
Other political affiliations	Jacobin Club (1789–1794)
Domestic partner	Éléonore Duplay (rumored)
Alma mater	University of Paris
Profession	Lawyer, politician
Signature

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (French: [mak.si.mi.ljɛ̃ fʁɑ̃.swa ma.ʁi i.zi.dɔʁ də ʁɔ.bɛs.pjɛʁ]; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) is one of the best-known leaders of the French Revolution. He was born in Arras, France and he went to school to become a lawyer and got his degree at law school. He was elected to the Estates General to help make laws for France. He fought against the French Monarchy, the death penalty, and slavery, and for democratic reforms and the people to have more power. He gained a reputation for defending the poor. His friends called him "incorruptible" for sticking to his moral values and killing his enemies. Later he was elected president of the powerful Jacobin political group.

Robespierre led the committee of public safety during 1793. Through it, he was able to execute the king. Even though Robespierre got thousands of people executed, Robespierre cared about the working class.

He executed King Louis XVI because he was convicted of treason. Under the advice of Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety came to control France. The period that the Committee of Public Safety ruled France is known as “The Reign of Terror” and Maximilien de Robespierre was their leader. In the Thermidorian Reaction Robespierre was caught and executed with 21 of his followers with a guillotine. The National Convention were the people who overthrew Maximilien de Robespierre.

Early life

Maximilien de Robespierre was born in Arras in the old French province of Artois. His family has been traced back to the 12th century in Picardy; some of his ancestors in the male line worked as notaries in Carvin near Arras from the beginning of the 17th century. It has been suggested that he was of Irish descent, his surname possibly a corruption of "Robert Speirs".

Other websites

• Works by Maximilien de Robespierre at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Maximilien de Robespierre at Internet Archive