François Hanriot (1761 – July 28, 1794) was a
French leader and street orator of the
Revolution. He played a vital role in the Insurrection and subsequently the fall of the
Girondins.
Life
Early years
François Hanriot was born to poor parents in
Nanterre, a western suburb of
Paris. "François Hanriot".
NNBD, Soylent Communications, 2008, <http://www.nnbd.com/people/021/000101715> (20 January, 2008). His parents were servants to a Parisian
bourgeoiseLenotre, G.
Romances of the French Revolution: From the French of G. Lenotre. Translated by George Frederic William Lees. Vol. II. (London: W. Heinemann, 1908), 270. which most likely helped influence his support of the Revolution later in life.
Not a man of any specific profession, Hanriot held a variety of different jobs. He lost his first employment with a
procureur doing mostly secretarial work, but lost his position due to reasons of dishonesty. Next, he obtained a clerkship in the Paris
octroi in 1789 doing tax work. His position here was also ill-fated, as he was again fired after leaving his station the night of 12 July, 1789, when angry Parisians attempted to burn the building down. After his string of unfortunate professions, Hanriot remained unemployed and subsequently very poor.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition. Vol. XII. (New York: The Encyclopedia Britannica Company, 1910).His next string of occupations is rather...
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