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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Jean Paul Marat Biography MARAT, ma'ra', Jean Paul (1744–93). One of the radical leaders of the French Revolution, born May 24, 1744, at Boudry, near Neufchâtel, Switzerland. In youth he made himself master of several languages; subsequently he studied medicine at Bordeaux and at Paris, and, after traveling extensively in Europe, removed to London. There he practiced medicine and published An Essay on Man (1772) and The Chains of Slavery (1776). Returning to Paris, he wrote on optical subjects and electricity and entered the service of the Count of Artois as a veterinary surgeon in 1777. The fruits of his studies in physics appeared in a number of publications on electricity and optics. Upon the outbreak of the Revolution, Marat soon came to the front as one of its most extravagant, passionate leaders, and won a large following. After several abortive journalistic experiments he established, Sept. 12, 1789, a journal, Le Publiciste Parisien, which as L'Ami du Peuple and, after Sept. 21, 1792, as Le Journal de la République became one of the most famous papers of the revolutionary period. In it Marat attacked the moderates of the Constituent Assembly and later the Girondists with such violence that he was compelled on several occasions to take refuge in England. Danton, who had found Marat useful in the preparation of the events which led up to the storming of the Tuileries (Aug. 10, 1792), made him a member of the Commune of Paris. It was in a great measure the influence of Marat which led to the cruelties and massacres of September, 1792, in the midst of which he was elected a member of the Convention. His journal became more radical and vehement than ever. During the King's trial he was urgent for his immediate execution, and in his journal called upon the people to slay 200,000 of the adherents of the old régime. On April 14, 1793, he was brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal on the charge of fomenting sedition, but was acquitted (April 24) and returned to the Convention more powerful than ever. He played probably the leading part in the events of May 31 to June 2, which brought about the downfall of the Girondists, who had long regarded him as their inveterate enemy. On July 13, 1793, Marat was stabbed in his own house by Charlotte Corday (q.v.). His death aroused tremendous public feeling. His bust was placed in the Hall of the Convention; the scene of his murder was painted by David; fêtes in perpetuation of his memory were held all over France; mothers named their children after the "martyr of the people," and in November the Convention decreed to Marat's remains the honors of the Panthéon. The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XV (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 60. |