Person

Maximilien Robespierre

1758–1794 · 18th century

Maximilien Robespierre was a French lawyer and leading Jacobin of the French Revolution. Elected to the Estates-General in 1789 and to the National Convention in 1792, he joined the Committee of Public Safety in July 1793 and became the most prominent figure of the Terror, which he defended as necessary to save the Republic. He was overthrown by the Convention on 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794) and guillotined the next day.

Maximilien Robespierre
Image: Unidentified painter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

French First Republic

Great speeches

Robespierre on Virtue and Terror5 February 1794

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Maximilien Robespierre. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/maximilien-robespierre
MLA
“Maximilien Robespierre.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/maximilien-robespierre. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Maximilien Robespierre.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/maximilien-robespierre.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Maximilien Robespierre’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/maximilien-robespierre (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻