Jean Paul Marat
Marat was a doctor and scientist. Above all, however, he was a political firebrand whose radical views provoked disgust in most people. Yet the common people loved him. He was the perfect agitator that the Parisian mob needed in September 1792 to justify the murder of defenseless prisoners with revolutionary rhetoric. Relentlessly, he demanded heads—before and after the September Massacres. At the height of his popularity, he was stabbed to death by a young woman. Marat thus became a holy martyr of the Revolution.
JK
1743 - 1793
- May 24, 1743 · Born in Baudry (now part of Switzerland).
- 1759 · At sixteen, he moves to Bordeaux to study medicine.
- 1765 · He emigrates to London and works there as a physician.
- 1774 · He publishes his first work: The Chains of Slavery.
- 1777 · He returns to Paris.
- September 12, 1789 · First issue of the newspaper Publiciste Parisien (later L’Ami du Peuple). He is pursued by the police, flees twice to England, then returns permanently to Paris.
- September 1792 · Deputy for the city of Paris in the National Convention.
- April 23, 1793 · Marat, accused by the Convention, is acquitted by the Revolutionary Tribunal.
- July 13, 1793 · Charlotte Corday murders Marat.
- October 14, 1793 · David presents his painting
The Death of Marat
to the Convention. - September 21, 1794 · Transfer of Marat’s body to the Panthéon.
- February 8, 1795 · The Convention orders Marat’s de-pantheonization. His body is moved to the cemetery of the parish church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont.
Quotes
The wisest and best way is to drag out the traitors and strike them down. What nonsense to put them on trial!
Marat, August 9, 1792
The people have obeyed my voice. They saved France by granting themselves dictatorial powers to kill traitors.
Marat in the National Convention, 1792, shortly after the September Massacres
Liberty must be established through violence, and the time has come to temporarily institute the despotism of liberty to destroy the despotism of kings.
Marat on the Committee of Public Safety, April 6, 1793
Talk to Marat
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External links
Le Moniteur
Mardi 16 juillet 1793. L'an deuxieme de la République Française.
