Chaumette, Pierre Gaspard

Chaumette, Pierre Gaspard (pyer gäspär' shōmet') [key], 1763–94, French Revolutionary. A member of the Cordeliers, he collaborated with Jacques Hébert to eliminate the royalists and to introduce (1793) the cult of Reason. Chaumette was general procurator (1792–94) and a chief leader of the Commune of Paris. Although he instituted social and moral reforms, his private life is reputed to have been less than pure. When Maximilien Robespierre turned upon the Hébertists, Chaumette tried in vain to escape the guillotine by renouncing Hébert.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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