Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Brissot de Warville, Jean Pierre

BRISSOT DE WARVILLE, Jean Pierre, French author, b. in Chartres, 14 Jan., 1754; d. 31 Oct., 1793. He was the thirteenth son of an inn-keeper, and was brought up in the village of Ouarville, or Warville, from which he took his name, studied law in Paris, and after the completion of his studies was employed by a procurator, for whom Robespierre also worked. His first book, "Théorie des lois criminelles," brought him to the notice of Voltaire and D'Alembert, and his "Bibliothèque des lois criminelles" gave him a wide reputation. In 1784 he was imprisoned for four months in the bastile as the supposed author of a pamphlet reflecting on the queen, which was really written by the marquis Pelleport. Going to London upon his release, he there edited a learned periodical called the "Lyceum." On returning to Paris, he founded, in 1788, the society of friends of the blacks, and came to the United States in its commission to inquire into the condition of the negroes. He returned to France at the beginning of the revolution of 1789, and edited "Le Patriote Français," was elected to the legislative assembly, and became the leader of the girondists, and the most influential opponent of the court and the aristocracy. After the king's flight he became leader of the party that demanded his deposition, but in the convention, in which he sat as the representative of the department of Eure-et-Loire, he opposed the execution of the king, and antagonized the men of September. He was instrumental in bringing about the declaration of war against England, Holland, and Austria. Incurring the hostility of Robespierre and the montagnards, he was accused of Royalism and federalism. After the defeat of his party, the girondists, on 31 May. 1793, he fled, but was arrested at Moulins, and, after a long imprisonment, during which he wrote his memoirs, was guillotined. The nickname "Brissotins," originally invented by the royalists to designate the revolutionists, came to be applied to the girondists. While in America, Brissot adopted the habits of the Quakers, and, on his return to France, introduced the fashion of wearing the hair without powder. His eloquence and literary ability contributed materially to the success of the French revolution. He published, among other works, "Examination of the Travels of Chastellux in America"; "The Commerce of America with Europe" (London, 1793); "Letters on the History of England"; and "To his Constituents on the Situation of the National Convention." See his "Memoires pour servir a I'histoire de la revolution," published by his son (Paris, 1830-2); also Lamartine's "History of the Girondists" and "Vie prive et politique de Brissot" (Paris, 1792).