Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Jacobin politician who argued for subsistence rights and revolutionary government
On 9 Thermidor, 27 July 1794, Convention deputies arrested him with about 90 others; he was executed without trial.
A lawyer and National Convention deputy during the French Revolution, Robespierre served on the Committee of Public Safety. His 1792 speech on subsistence placed access to necessities first while recognizing legitimate property and trade. His February 1794 report defended virtue and terror as principles of revolutionary government. This was a participant’s justification of repression; decisions made by the Convention and its committees cannot all be treated as his personal orders. He was executed after his defeat at Thermidor.
Career timeline
- 1789Elected deputy to the Estates-General for Artois
- 1780Graduated in law and was admitted to the Arras bar
- 1792Elected deputy to the National Convention
- 1793–1794Served on the Committee of Public Safety, a leading figure of the revolutionary government