Jean-Paul Marat

(1743 - 1793)

Jean-Paul Marat was a successful doctor in London in the 1770s while also publishing philosophical and scientific works. As the editor of the newspaper The Friend of the People, he emerged as one of the most radical leaders of the revolution, chiding his readers in 1790, “Five or six hundred heads cut off would have assured your repose, freedom, and happiness.” He was stabbed to death in his bath in 1793; Jacques-Louis David began painting The Death of Marat days after the murder.