JACQUES PIERRE BRISSOT

Background

He was born in Ouarville, near Chartres, Jan. 14, 1754. Prior to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, he studied law, wrote treatises on penal reform and the philosophy of law, managed a newspaper, and traveled in the United States.

As leader of the Girondin, or Brissotin, party he was proscribed when the Jacobin Montagnard party executed the coup d'etat of June 2, 1793. Brissot attempted to elude arrest by flight from Paris, but he was arrested in Moulins and guillotined with the Girondin leaders on Oct. 31, 1793, in Paris.

Career

His concern for penal reform and emancipation of black slaves established him as an 18th-century humanitarian. Though he was not a member of the National Assembly, he founded his newspaper, the Patriote français,francais, on May 6, 1789, despite official press restrictions. The popularity of this publication helped to secure his election to the Legislative Assembly in 1791 and to the National Convention in 1792. He favored the declaration of war against Austria and Prussia in 1792 as a means of securing the downfall of the monarchy.

Achievements

He founded his newspaper, the Patriote français,francais, despite official press restrictions.

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