Maximilien Robespierre

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (IPA: [mak.si.mi.ljɛ̃ fʁɑ̃.swa ma.ʁi i.zi.dɔʁ də ʁɔ.bɛs.pjɛʁ]; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and politician, and one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.

As a member of the Estates-General, the Constituent Assembly and the Jacobin Club, Robespierre was an outspoken advocate of the poor and of democratic institutions. Early during the revolution Robespierre opposed war with Austria, and warned of the possibility of a military coup by the Marquis de Lafayette. Though he was an ardent opponent of the death penalty, Robespierre played an important role in arguing for the execution of King Louis XVI, and the creation of a French Republic. He would campaign for equality of rights and universal male suffrage in France, for price controls on basic food commodities, and successfully advocated for the abolition of slavery in the French colonies.

While France was beset by crises including external and civil war, Robespierre became an important figure during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. He was named as a member of the powerful Committee of Public Safety launched by his political ally Georges Danton, and exerted his influence to suppress the left wing Hébertists. Robespierre later moved against the more moderate Danton, who was accused of corruption. The terror ended a few months after Robespierre's arrest and execution in July 1794, and was followed by a white terror. The political figures of the Thermidorian reaction who rose to power after Robespierre's downfall accused him of being the "soul" of the Terror. Robespierre's personal responsibility for the excesses of the Terror remain the subject of intense debate among historians of the French Revolution.