Pierre-Gaspard Chaumette

Pierre-Gaspard Chaumette known as Anaxagoras , born with Nevers, the May 24th 1763 and died in Paris, the April 13rd 1794, is a member of the Commune of Paris.

It was wire of a Cordonnier which made him make some studies. It came to Paris in 1789, worked with a newspaper entitled the Révolutions of Paris , and was named in 1792 prosecutor syndic of the Commune. It was, with Hébert, its substitute, with the head of a faction known as of the " exagérés". He proposed and took many social measures (prohibition to whip the children in the schools, helps with the prostitutes, old men, orphans, patients), cultural (libraries, academy of music) but also " terroristes" (law of the suspect, revolutionary army, mobile guillotine…)

He was a partisan of the Déchristianisation and took the name of " Anaxagoras " in reference to the ancient Greek philosopher who was hung for atheism. He invented the festivals of the Reason, which were celebrated in Notre-Dame, and whose goddess was represented by an actress of the Opera. It is stopped at the same time as Hébert at the time of the offensive of Robespierre and Danton against the " enragés" and " exagérés". Shown by the revolutionary tribunal (Fouquiet-Tinville) to have " sought to destroy any species of morals, to erase any idea of divinity and to base the French government on atheism " , it is guillotine on April 13rd 1794 .

Sources

BOSSUT Nicole, Chaumette spokesperson without breeches , CTHS, 1998
historical Dictionary of the French revolution , under the direction of Jean-François Surrateau and François Gendron, PUF, 1989

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