[1792] - Robespierre elected to the National Assembly

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (1758–94) was one of the most prominent politicians during the French Revolution until his arrest and execution in 1794. Born in Arras in northern France, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris at the age of 11. Here he met and befriended fellow revolutionaries Camille Desmoulins and Stanislas Fréron. Following a brief career as a lawyer at the bar of Arras, he was elected fifth deputy of the Third Estate of Artois to the Estates General. His political influence increased further as a result of his membership of the Society of the Friends of the Constitution (subsequently the Jacobin Club). In 1792, however, sharp rivalries between the Girondists and the Jacobins developed rapidly. Robespierre was elected first deputy for Paris to the National Convention on 5 September, but he was immediately attacked by the Girondists who accused him of wanting to form a dictatorship.

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