Joseph-Benoît Suvée. Wikimedia
12. Andre Chenier
Andre Chenier was one of the more tragic figures of the revolution, being a foreign-born poet who lived in France and died three days before the Reign of Terror came to an end. He was born to a French father and Greek mother in Constantinople, now Istanbul, Turkey. After a short stint in the French military, he dedicated himself to the writing of poetry in the neoclassical style. He frequently traveled throughout Europe and was enabled to write and study poetry without interruption from his family, who supported his ventures. Many of his poems dealt with philosophical ideals of the Enlightenment, such as the place of man in the universe.
Following the shocking events of 1789 that gave way to the revolution, Chenier’s younger brother became widely published as a pamphleteer and political activist. However, Andre remained a moderate who believed that, following the downfall of the monarchy, France simply needed to impose a new rule of law. He went on to write political satires about the Reign of Terror. Robespierre, who by July of 1794 was in a precarious position, personally had him sentenced to death for opposition to the revolution. Shortly after that, Robespierre himself was arrested and executed.