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Jean Lambert Tallien
A single appearance made Tallien famous: on the 9th of Thermidor, he theatrically waved a dagger on the speaker’s platform, screamed like a madman, and attacked the tyrant
Robespierre. He wasn’t trying to end the Terror – he had actively taken part in it. His goal was to free his lover. And he succeeded: Robespierre fell, and Thérésia Cabarrus was released from prison. But the marriage didn’t last long, as Thérésa – the party icon of the Directory – soon found a wealthy banker. Tallien continued in the spirit of the Terror: together with Fréron, he founded the Jeunesse dorée, a gang that mainly targeted the remaining Jacobins, and organized summary courts in the army. But he never managed to regain a solid foothold in politics. He died completely impoverished in Paris at the age of 53.
1767 - 1820
- January 23, 1767 · Born in Paris.
- 1791 · Becomes a journalist for the Moniteur.
- September 1792 · Elected deputy to the National Convention for the department of Seine-et-Oise.
- September 23, 1793 · Sent to Bordeaux as a representative on mission, where he falls in love with the former Marquise Thérésia Cabarrus and secures her release from prison.
- May 1794 · Recalled to Paris by the Committee of Public Safety; Thérésa is imprisoned again.
- July 27, 1794 · Initiates the uprising against Robespierre during the Convention session on 9 Thermidor.
- December 26, 1794 · Marries Thérésia Cabarrus, but the marriage lasts only a short time.
- March 1795 · Orders the execution of royalists in Quiberon.
- October 1795 · Becomes a deputy in the Council of Five Hundred.
- May 1798 · Is not re-elected.
- June 1798 · Joins Napoleon Bonaparte’s expedition to Egypt.
- 1800 · On the way back to Egypt, his ship is captured by a British cruiser. Tallien is taken to London.
- April 1802 · After his return from London, Tallien and Thérésa get divorced.
- November 1804 · Becomes consul in Alicante, contracts yellow fever, loses vision in one eye, and returns to Paris. Lives on a pension granted by Napoleon.
- 1815 · After Napoleon’s fall, avoids exile due to poor health but spends his final years in poverty in Paris.
- November 16, 1820 · Dies in Paris.
Quotes
I have armed myself with a dagger that will pierce this man's chest if the Convention does not have the courage to order his arrest.
Tallien in the Convention, 9th Thermidor
The head of the conspirators has fallen! Let us join our fellow citizens, let us share in the general joy. The day of a tyrant’s death is a celebration of fraternity!
Tallien in the Convention, 10th Thermidor
My situation is anything but brilliant. I have no more than two hundred louis a year to live on. I arrived in France dying and stayed in bed for eighteen months.
Letter of June 15, 1807 to Talleyrand
Le Moniteur
Tridi, 13 Thermidor, l'an 2 de la République Française,
une et indivisible
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Jan Knupper 2025 | CCXXXIV
