Maximilien Robespierre
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre May 6 1758–July 28 1794) is one of the best-known leaders of the French Revolution. His supporters knew him as "the Incorruptible" because of his austere moral devotion to revolutionary political change. He was an influential member of the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror that ended with his arrest and execution in 1794. He studied at College of Louis-Le-grand in Paris and became a lawyer.
Politically, Robespierre was a disciple of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, among other Enlightenment philosophes, and a capable articulator of the beliefs of the left-wing bourgeoisie. He was described as physically unimposing and immaculate in dress and personal manners.