Pierre-Gaspard Chaumette
Date of Birth
May 24, 1763
Date of Death
April 13, 1794
About
Under the adopted name Anaxagoras, Chaumette became one of the leading voices of the Paris Commune. He promoted an ambitious programme of poor relief and public assistance, while championing dechristianisation and the political demands of the sans-culottes. Yet his support for the suppression of women’s political clubs exposed the limits of his egalitarian politics. When the revolutionary government turned against the Hébertists as a competing centre of power, Chaumette was swept up in the repression and sent to the guillotine in April 1794.