Who died during the French Revolution of 1789?

What was the French Revolution?

This 12-minute video provides an overview of the French Revolution of 1789, a conflict brewed from food shortages and economic hardships. On May 5, 1789, French King Louis XVI called a meeting of the three groups--known as estates--made up of...

Music of the French Revolution

Listen to the melodies of the French Revolution of 1789 in this resource by the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Reconstructed by three professionals, these 10 songs from France's revolutionary era offer a glimpse into the haunting realities of such change. The songs were recreated based on musical scores included in fashion magazines from the era. French and English lyrics are provided for each song.

Who was Maximilien Robespierre, leader of the Reign of Terror?

This 28-minute podcast details the life and death of French revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre, who was killed by the people he previously led in 1794. Robespierre is considered the leader of the Revolution's Reign of Terror, a period of intense...

The deadliest fireworks accident in history was Marie-Antoinette's wedding

In 1770, a fireworks display in Paris celebrating the marriage of Marie-Antoinette to the Dauphin, later known as Louis XVI, resulted in as many as 3,000 deaths. Most casualties were caused by trampling from a panicked crowd of thousands rushing away after some fireworks were blown into the spectators.

Explore the French palace royals fled from during the 1789 revolution

This virtual reality tour lets viewers explore the Palace of Versailles, which King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were forced to flee during the French Revolution. Versailles was later made a public establishment by order of King...

The man behind the dark novel abandoned on the floor of the Bastille

As tensions rose in the days before the French Revolution of 1789, Donatien Alphonse François attempted to fan the flames by shouting at passersby about false horrors happening inside the Bastille where he was imprisoned. This 39-minute podcast...

Delacroix's 'Liberty Leading the People' depicts a scene from the French Revolution

The massive painting, at over 8 feet by 10 feet, is striking, especially considering the warfare being depicted. Paintings of this size were usually reserved for historical events, but Delacroix was portraying what the people of Paris experienced just a few months earlier.

Sartre's 1980 funeral attracted a massive crowd

The legendary existentialist died April 15, 1980. A week later, mourners packed the streets of Paris to pay tribute. Estimates suggest that between 20,000 and 50,000 people were in attendance. In the Associated Press footage below, you can watch them following the hearse from the hospital where the thinker died to his resting place in Montparnasse Cemetery.

Enslaved and in debt: the French roots of Haiti's struggles

This investigative infographic details how Haiti was forced to pay for its freedom twice: once in blood and once in cash. In August 1791, Haiti's enslaved population launched a revolt against French colonists, successfully establishing Haiti as a...

Enlightenment ideals of reason informed the foundation of the Revolution

From the 17th to 19th centuries, an intellectual movement took place in Europe and its colonies that emphasized reason over authority. Following the Scientific Revolution, thinkers like Descartes, Kant, and Locke sought to explain the world in rational—rather than religious—terms. The movement caused a paradigm shift in how societies are organized and how people perceive themselves.

Women lost legal rights after the revolution, despite educational gains

The revolution rolled back women's legal protections, including the Family Protection Law, and imposed the mandatory hijab. Paradoxically, women later achieved significant educational gains, with university enrollment and literacy rates dramatically improving.

A graphic illustration of death tolls in historical events and wars

Which killed more, the American Civil War or the Korean War? Hurricane Katrina or the Titanic sinking? You’ll be surprised how wrong you are about death tolls.

In medieval France, pigs were once put on trial

Pigs are omnivorous animals. There are hundreds of records of pigs killing and eating children in medieval Europe. In France, these tragedies often resulted in trials and then hangings. Some pigs were held in jail for years before being executed.

An in-depth history of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot

Guy Fawkes Day has been celebrated on November 5 in the United Kingdom for over four centuries, with bonfires, fireworks, and effigies. But who was Guy Fawkes, really? Learn about the Catholic radical who was a member of a group of 13 men eventually executed for their attempts to blow up Parliament and the king.

Who said 'rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God'?

As a brief, punchy statement rejecting unjust authority, "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God" became widely adopted during the American Revolution. The phrase is often misattributed to Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, the latter of whom used it on his personal seal. This fact-checked article dives into the history of the phrase, claiming it was first used in 1770 in an epitaph for an English judge. Read more here.

The bubonic plague spread in three waves over 600 years

The Black Death refers to the first wave of the plague, which swept through Europe in the 14th century and killed 25 to 50 million people. Caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis carried by fleas (often on rats), the human toll was roughly one-third of Europe's population at the time.

Measuring the chance a Roman emperor would die violently

The odds of survival for a Roman emperor were like playing Russian roulette with a six-chambered revolver and four bullets, according to this scientific journal article. Of the 69 rulers of the unified Roman Empire between 14 CE and 395 CE, 43 suffered a violent death. This journal article examines Roman emperors' time-to-violent death using statistical tools of survival data analysis.

Guerilla warfare was a significant part of the success of the Americans

Francis Marion, also known as the Swamp Fox, was a Patriot general who used guerrilla warfare tactics in the Carolinas during the Revolutionary War’s southern campaigns. Also called “maneuver warfare,” the approach focuses on disorienting the enemy and exploiting their weaknesses while avoiding their strengths.

The culture shock of flossing in France

Flossing is a typical recommendation from US dentists as a low-risk method of reducing plaque buildup on your teeth. However, in many parts of the world, especially France, the practice is not a cultural norm. This article explores reactions from French natives to the idea of flossing and examines the surprising lack of studies proving (or disproving) the efficacy of using floss.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

The atomic bombs dropped on Japan had massive human costs

The US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 killed around 210,000 people—more than 38,000 of them estimated to be children—with tens of thousands more later dying from radiation-linked illnesses, leaving lifelong trauma and increased cancer risks.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

Death taxes have helped fund wars since the 1860s

Death taxes date back to 700 BCE and were used in Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt. In the US, they've been used to finance wars since the Civil War, and have been levied on both the estate and beneficiary. The estate tax created during WWI to help finance war efforts is still in effect today.

More than 2,000 Black Americans were victims of racial terror lynchings from 1865 to 1876

The Equal Justice Initiative documented over 2,000 lynchings of Black people during Reconstruction—violence that attempted to restore white supremacy, suppress Black political power, and terrorize communities in the aftermath of emancipation.

11 people died from firework injuries in the US in 2024.

The story of Hypatia, a leading Roman scholar murdered by monks

Hypatia of Alexandria was a secular philosopher in Egypt who headed a university, improved scientific instruments, penned textbooks, and advised the city's leaders. As a Neoplatonist, she approached numbers as a sacred language. Religious fervor and her visible advisory role led to her brutal dismemberment by rogue monks.

The female samurai of feudal Japan

This article examines the role of Japan's female samurai throughout history, specifically the Battle of Aizu, a deadly civil conflict between traditionalists and reformers in 1868 in which one side had halberds and swords and the other had guns....

Catalonia and the War of the Spanish Succession

The War of Spanish Succession (1702-1715) was an international and civil war that reshaped Europe’s political landscape and brought Catalonia under Spanish rule. Created by the Museum of the History of Catalonia in Barcelona, this virtual exhibit guides readers through the 13-year war with a specific eye for its effects on Catalonia. Galleries of artwork from the period on the right-hand side of the page help immerse visitors in the history.

See how Ebola tore through Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia in 2014-2016.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.