11. Camille Desmoulins
Camille Desmoulins was trained as a lawyer but had difficulty establishing his own career in Paris. When King Louis XVI summoned the Estates General, he became so enthused that he dedicated the rest of his career, and his life, to the impending revolution. When the king dismissed the finance minister, who was popular with the people, Camille was so passionate that he jumped onto a table in a café and delivered a call to arms against the military forces that were amassing in Paris. Riots quickly spread throughout Paris.
Camille went on to publish pamphlets calling for a republican government that would represent the will of the people and celebrating the political violence that was coming to define the revolution. One of the more radical revolutionaries, he also publicly slandered Jean Pierre Brissot as a cheater who had betrayed the causes of the revolution.
His views were very much aligned with those of Georges Danton, whom he actually served under at one point. Like Danton, he tried to apply moderation to the Revolutionary Tribunal when he saw that the Reign of Terror was turning into an orgy of bloodshed. He was tried with Danton in a tribunal that had political rather than criminal overtones and denied any legal defense. Camille was guillotined with Danton.