Jean Paul Marat

Marat, Jean Paul (1743–93), French Revolutionary politician. A doctor and journalist, he founded the journal L'Ami du peuple at the onset of the Revolution. His vociferous attacks on those in power led to outlaw status and flight to England (1790, 1791). He continued to publish in secret and was elected to the National Convention in 1792, a leader of the radical faction. Chief instigator of the September Massacre (1792) in which over 1,200 died, he was an active supporter of the Jacobins and their Reign of Terror. Marat was murdered in his bath by Charlotte Corday.

See also: French Revolution.