Jean-Sylvain Bailly

Birth: 1736

Death: 1793

Occupation: Mayor of Paris

A noted astronomer, Bailly was elected a deputy (representing Paris) in the Estates General and then the first president of the Third Estate. He played a central role in the creation of the National Assembly in June 1789 and then became the first mayor of Paris on 15 July 1789 (the day after the murder of Jacques de Flesselles, who held the pre-Revolutionary equivalent of this post, Provost of Merchants). Bailly remained an influential figure for some time, but his reputation became mired in controversy after the Champs de Mars massacre in 1791. He was guillotined during the Terror.

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1789

22 July: Revolutionary Paris in July 1789

The duchess reflects on events in the Revolution so far and the rising power of Paris's new municipal government. She castigates a...

Portrait by Jean-Laurent Mosnier, 1789

[Source: Wikipedia]