Robes·pierre

(rōbz′pîr, -pē-âr′, rô-bĕs-pyĕr′), Maximilien François Marie Isidore de 1758-1794.

French revolutionary. Leader of the Jacobins and architect of the Reign of Terror, he was known as an austere and incorruptible man. His laws permitting the confiscation of property and arrest of suspected traitors, many of whom were guillotined, led to his own arrest and execution without trial.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Robespierre

(ˈrəʊbzpjɛə; French rɔbzpjɛr)

(Biography) Maximilien François Marie Isidore de (maksimiljɛ̃ frɑ̃swa mari izidɔr də). 1758–94, French revolutionary and Jacobin leader: established the Reign of Terror as a member of the Committee of Public Safety (1793–94): executed in the coup d'état of Thermidor (1794)

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Robes•pierre

(ˈroʊbz pɪər, -piˌɛər, ˌroʊ bəs piˈɛər)

n.

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de, 1758–94, French revolutionary leader.

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Noun

Robespierre - French revolutionary; leader of the Jacobins and architect of the Reign of Terror; was himself executed in a coup d'etat (1758-1794)

Maxmillien Marie Isidore de Robespierre

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References in classic literature

Dark crimson velvet, dark purple silk, and jet-black cloth, with linen of dazzling whiteness, composed the festive dress of the President, who marched at the head of his Committee carrying an enormous nosegay, like that which a hundred and twenty-one years later, Monsieur de Robespierre displayed at the festival of "The Supreme Being."

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For mercy's sake, then, what would you call Robespierre? Come, come, do not strip the latter of his just rights to bestow them on the Corsican, who, to my mind, has usurped quite enough."

"Nay, madame; I would place each of these heroes on his right pedestal -- that of Robespierre on his scaffold in the Place Louis Quinze; that of Napoleon on the column of the Place Vendome.

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The hatred of the Portas and the Piombos and their terrible passions were inscribed on this page of the civil law as the annals of a people (contained, it may be, in one word only,--Napoleon, Robespierre) are engraved on a tombstone.

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Meanwhile, he cast his eyes over that unfortunate city, which contained so much deep misery and so many heroic virtues, and recalling the saying of Louis XI, his political predecessor, as he himself was the predecessor of Robespierre, he repeated this maxim of Tristan's gossip: "Divide in order to reign."

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Evans Pott was his name, and even the great Boss of Vermissa felt towards him something of the repulsion and fear which the huge Danton may have felt for the puny but dangerous Robespierre.

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There comes a Mirabeau or a Danton, a Robespierre or a Napoleon, or proconsuls, or an emperor, and there is an end of deliberations and debates.

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Rabourdin wore habitually a blue surcoat, a white cravat, a waistcoat crossed a la Robespierre, black trousers without straps, gray silk stockings and low shoes.

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1586: Sir Thomas Harriot introduces potatoes to Europe 1794: French Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre and 22 other leaders of "the Terror" are guillotined 1858: The first ever aerial photo is taken (from a balloon) by French photographer Nadar 1900: The hamburger is created by Louis Lassing, in Connecticut 1933: The first singing telegram is delivered in New York 1938: The Cunard-White Star liner, Mauretania, is launched at Birkenhead 1954: On the Waterfront, starring Marlon Brando, is released 1959: The UK starts using postal codes 1988: Paddy Ashdown, right, is elected the first leader of the new Social and Liberal Democrat Party, later the Lib Dems 2008: Weston-super-Mare's Grand Pier burns down for the second time in 80 years

ON THIS DAY ..

| 1794: Maximilien Robespierre, one of the leaders of the French Revolution, was guillotined in Paris.

ON THIS DAY

French lawyer and politician Maximilien Robespierre was maybe the most influential figure of the French Revolution.

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