Alfred-Édouard Billioray

Paris Commune (1871) 1841–1877 → Died in penal deportation

Painter who replaced Delescluze on the Committee of Public Safety and died in penal deportation

Born in Naples in 1841, he was a French painter and a pupil of Rosa Bonheur, but never gained recognition because the Salon rejected his canvases. During the siege he served in the National Guard and on the vigilance committee of the 14th arrondissement, where he proved a good organiser. Without standing as a candidate he was elected to the Commune for the 14th arrondissement in 1871 and sat on the public services and finance commissions. He voted for the Committee of Public Safety, and when Delescluze became delegate for war he replaced him on the committee. Arrested during the Bloody Week and sentenced to deportation, he was too ill to be sent and stayed in prison, escaped in March 1875 and was recaptured. He asked to be deported to New Caledonia and died at Nouméa shortly after arriving in 1877.