Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (1758-1794) was a French lawyer who became one of the primary leaders of the French Revolution (1789-1799). From his initial rise to stardom in the Jacobin Club, Robespierre went on to dominate the powerful Committee of Public Safety and oversee the Reign of Terror. He was overthrown and guillotined on 28 July 1794.
More about: Maximilien RobespierreDefinition
Timeline
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6 May 1758Maximilien Robespierre is born in Arras, a small city in Artois, France.
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1769 - 1777Robespierre studies at the Louis-le-Grand college in Paris; during his studies, he is acquainted with the works of Rousseau.
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1781 - 1789Robespierre practices law in Arras, earning a reputation as a defender of the marginalized.
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4 May 1789Robespierre attends the opening of the Estates-General of 1789, which kicks off the French Revolution.
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31 Mar 1790Robespierre is first elected to the presidency of the Jacobin Club.
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Jul 1791The Jacobin Club fractures; Robespierre begins lodging at the Duplay house.
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27 Jul 1793Maximilien Robespierre elected to the Committee of Public Safety; the National Convention institutes death penalty for hoarders of goods.
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8 Jun 1794Festival of the Supreme Being is held on the Champ de Mars.
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10 Jun 1794Law of 22 Prairial intensifies the Reign of Terror, accelerating the trial phase and leading to more executions.
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18 Jun 1794 - 25 Jul 1794For unknown reasons, Robespierre secludes himself from public life, giving his enemies time to gather.
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26 Jul 1794Maximilien Robespierre returns to the National Convention to defend himself from political attack, implicates numerous "traitors" within the Convention but refuses to name names.
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27 Jul 1794The National Convention orders the arrests of Robespierre, Saint-Just, Couthon, and others; they escape and take refuge in the Hôtel de Ville.
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27 Jul 1794Robespierre and his followers are denounced by the National Convention and declared to be outlaws.
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28 Jul 1794Execution of Robespierre, Saint-Just, and Couthon; end to the Terror, beginning of the Thermidorian Reaction.
