Home /
Dramatis Personae /
Vergniaud, Pierre-Victurnien

Pierre-Victurnien Vergniaud

Born

31 May 1753

Died

31 October 1793

Born in Limoges and established as a lawyer in Bordeaux, Vergniaud was elected for the Gironde in 1791 and became one of the Legislative Assembly’s most influential speakers. He supported war in 1792, challenged the king’s ministers and argued that Louis XVI could be treated as having abdicated if he failed to oppose foreign invasion. In the Convention he worked closely with Brissot, Guadet and other deputies later known as Girondins. During Louis XVI’s trial, Vergniaud supported referring the judgement to a popular vote, then voted for death and against delaying the execution. As president, he announced the Convention’s sentence. On 2 June 1793, after armed Parisian forces surrounded the Assembly, the Convention ordered his arrest with other deputies. Convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal, he was executed on 31 October 1793.

Related peopleGirondins

Charles Barbaroux

Jacques Pierre Brissot

François Buzot All in this faction →

Articles about

Pierre Vergniaud

No articles about this figure yet.

Browse all articles →