Robespierre Guillotined: The Reign of Terror Ends
Maximilien Robespierre went to the guillotine on July 28, 1794, one day after his arrest, with his shattered jaw bound in a bloody bandage from a failed suicide attempt. Twenty-one of his supporters were executed alongside him in the largest mass execution of the Revolution. The crowd cheered. For twelve months, Robespierre had presided over the Terror, sending former allies Danton and Desmoulins to the blade alongside thousands of ordinary citizens accused of vaguely defined crimes against the republic. His execution, known as the Thermidorian Reaction, ended the radical phase of the French Revolution and allowed moderate republicans to establish the Directory, a more stable but deeply corrupt government.
July 28, 1794
232 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Paris
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guillotine
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French Revolution
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Maximilien Robespierre
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Louis Antoine de Saint-Just
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French Revolution
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Maximilien Robespierre
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Louis Antoine de Saint-Just
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Guillotine
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Paris
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Georges Couthon
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Robespierrisme
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Reign of Terror
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History of France
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Jacobin (politics)
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1758
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1767
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