Danton

(Georges Jacques), French revolutionist, b. Arcis sur Aube, 28 Oct. 1759. An uncle wished him to enter into orders, but he preferred to study law. During the Revolution his eloquence made him conspicuous at the Club of Cordeliers, and in Feb. 1791, he became one of the administrators of Paris. One of the first to see that after the flight of Louis XVI. he could no longer be king, he demanded his suspension, and became one of the chief organisers of the Republic. In the alarm caused by the invasion he urged a bold and resolute policy. He was a member of the Convention and of the Committee of Public Safety. At the crisis of the struggle with Robes pierre , Danton declined to strike the first blow and disdained to fly. Arrested March, 1794, he said when interrogated by the judge, “My name is Danton, my dwelling will soon be in annihilation; but my name will live in the Pantheon of history.” He maintained his lofty bearing on the scaffold, where he perished 5 April, 1794. For his known scepticism Danton was called fils de Diderot . Carlyle calls him “a very Man . ”