ROBESPIERRE, or Whis per, Maximilien Francois Marie French revolutionist: b. Arras, 6 May 1758; d. Paris, 28 July 1794. He was the son of an avocat and having been left an orphan at 11 was sent by his grandfather to the college of his native town, from which he passed in 1770 to the College Louis-le-Grand at Paris on a scholarship given him by the bishop of Artois. After pursuing the study of law with great distinction, he returned, in 1781, to Arras, where he adopted the profession of advocate. Solid, rather than brilliant, he quickly became known as a skilful lawyer and a man of un impeachable integrity. With growing success he gave much of his time to the dilettante pur suit of literature, wrote essays in competition for prizes offered by the provincial academies and was a prominent member of the Rosati, a society devoted'to the cultivation of wit and letters. He' was an ardent student of Rousseau and a fanatical believer in the teachings of the Genevan philosotther; indeed Robespierre's un wavering convictions in the possibility of realiz ing Rousseau's ideal society explains his course in the days when be stood forth as the greatest figure in France and gives the secret of his porary success. In the events leading up to the election of the States-General Robespierre appeared prominently as the champion of the liberal views then so: widespread among the French bourgeoisie. He was elected fifth uty to the States-General from Artois and allied body himself with the radical faction in that .
In the constituent assembly he spoke frequently and always in the spirit of that equality which he believed was now at length to be established in France. Of small stature and by no means robust health, weak-voiced and pale-eyed, he did not impress himself on the mass of the as sembly, but those who came into personal con tact with him were gained over by his tremen dous sincerity and Mirabeau said of him: That young than believes 'what he says; he will go far.* Robespierre's great strength, however,
was in the club of the Jacobins, where his polished, classical declamations gained him the ardent support of those members who had been recruited from among the working classes and the small bourgeoisie of Paris. His power in the club became absolute when the more con servative members seceded in 1791, after the more radical faction, under the inspiration of Robespierre, had prepared the petition for the deposition of Louis XVI which led to the mas sacres in the Champ de Mars in 17 July. His popularity was demonstrated on the day of the dissolution of the National Assembly, 30 Sept. 1791, when Robespierre and Potion were drawn in triumph through the streets of Paris and crowned as (incorruptible patriots* by the people. In accordance with his own motion, adopted in May 1791, prohihiting, members of the constitutent assembly from sitting in the succeeding legislature, Robespierre took no direct part in the sessions of that body, but he continued to wield great influence over its de liberations through his power in the Jacobin. In February 1792 he became public prosecutor at Paris, but resigned the office in April on account of the virulent attacks of the Giron dists, who regarded him with special hatred because of his opposition to their favorite policy of war against Austria. Robespierre's opposi tion to the war was based on humanitarian grounds; he was, besides, a man of theories and not of action and this would explain the little share he took in the uprisings of 20 June and 10 August, which, under the fguidance of Dan ton, effected what Robespierre was quite pleased to see consummated, the overthrow of the Bourbon monarchy. Shortly after the storming of the Tuileries, Robespierre became a member of the Paris Commune; his personal popularity lent strength to, that body, but his inability to, prevent the prison massacres of September showed that his power was by no means absolute in the ranks of the radical party.