Robespierre, Maximilien François Marie Isidore de

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Robespierre, Maximilien François Marie Isidore de (1758–94) French revolutionary leader. Elected to the National Assembly in 1789, he advocated democracy and liberal reform. In 1791, he became leader of the Jacobins, and gained credit when his opposition to war with Austria was justified by French defeats. With the King and the Girondins discredited, Robespierre led the republican revolution of 1792, and was elected to the National Convention. His election to the Committee of Public Safety (June 1793) heralded the Reign of Terror, in which hundreds died on the guillotine. Ruthless methods seemed less urgent after French victories in war, and Robespierre was arrested in the coup of 9th Thermidor (July 27, 1794) and executed.

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