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Malesherbes (de), Chrétien-Guillaume de Lamoignon

Chrétien-Guillaume de Lamoignon de Malesherbes

Born

6 December 1721

Died

22 April 1794

Malesherbes, first president of the Cour des aides, directed the royal book trade from 1750 to 1763. Although responsible for regulating print, he protected some writers and enabled the Encyclopédie to resume publication after its prohibition in 1752. As a minister under Louis XVI, he promoted reforms to taxation, criminal justice and civil status, and helped prepare the 1787 edict permitting non-Catholics to register marriages, births and deaths. In December 1792 he volunteered to join Tronchet and de Sèze in Louis XVI’s defence. Arrested a year later, he was convicted on accusations of conspiracy and executed on 22 April 1794.

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6 Dec 1721Birth of Malesherbes See them in the timeline →