Execution of Jean Sylvain Bailly
- When
- 1793
- Where
- Melun (arrest site, outside Paris); Revolutionary Tribunal, Paris; Champ de Mars, Paris
- Episodes
- 3
Jean Sylvain Bailly, astronomer and former mayor of Paris, was guillotined on 12 November 1793 after a swift trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal, executed at the Champ de Mars as a symbolic site of his alleged betrayal of the republican movement.
Episodes
- Arrest at Melun
Fleeing in July 1793, Bailly was recognized and arrested at Melun while seeking refuge with Laplace.
- Trial Before the Revolutionary Tribunal
On 10 November 1793 Bailly faced the Revolutionary Tribunal in Paris, was speedily tried, and sentenced to death the next day.
- Execution at the Champ de Mars
Bailly was guillotined on 12 November 1793 at the Champ de Mars, chosen symbolically as the site of his alleged betrayal of the republican movement.
Background and detail
Background. Jean Sylvain Bailly (15 September 1736 – 12 November 1793) was a French astronomer, mathematician, freemason, and political leader of the early French Revolution. He had presided over the Tennis Court Oath and served as mayor of Paris from 1789 to 1791 before his downfall during the Reign of Terror.
Arrest and Prosecution. In July 1793, Bailly left Nantes intending to join his friend Pierre-Simon Laplace at Melun, but was recognized there and arrested. On 10 November 1793 he was brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal in Paris, speedily tried, and sentenced to death the following day.
Causes of the Execution. The revival of the Champ de Mars episode as part of republican heritage after 10 August 1792, together with a campaign of municipal persecution led by Marat, ultimately resulted in Bailly's execution, along with that of many of his colleagues.
People involved
- Jean Sylvain Bailly · executed prisoner; astronomer and former mayor of Paris
- Pierre-Simon Laplace · friend at Melun whom Bailly sought to join before his arrest
- Marat · instigator of the municipal persecution campaign that led to the execution
Sources
- Jean Sylvain Bailly Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-04
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.