Charlotte Corday

Charlotte Corday (Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont, born on 27 July 1768) is best known for her assassination of the French revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat. Corday, originating from a minor aristocratic family in Normandy, became politically active during the French Revolution. She was influenced by the Girondins (a moderate republican faction that opposed the radical Jacobins).

Corday saw Marat as a principal architect of the Reign of Terror (a period characterized by mass executions and political purges). Believing that his death would restore peace to France, she decided to assassinate him. On 13 July 1793, Corday traveled to Paris, where she gained access to Marat by claiming she had information about a counter-revolutionary conspiracy. Marat, who was afflicted with a chronic skin condition, usually conducted meetings from his medicinal bath. Corday used this opportunity to fatally stab him with a kitchen knife.

Her actions were deliberate and premeditated. Corday did not attempt to flee and was arrested immediately after the assassination. During her trial, she expressed no remorse and articulated her motivations clearly. She was convicted of murder and executed by guillotine on 17 July 1793. Corday's assassination of Marat did not achieve her intended outcome; instead, it intensified the hostilities and led to increased support for the Jacobins. The event highlighted the intense ideological conflicts within the revolutionary factions and underscored the period's extreme political volatility.

Corday’s legacy remains contested. Some view her as a heroic figure who sought to end the bloodshed, while others see her as a symbol of the violence that permeated the era. Her act of assassination and subsequent execution underscore the personal and ideological stakes involved in the French Revolution’s turbulent political landscape.

• Charlotte Corday was not merely a political assassin but also an aspiring playwright; her deep love for literature influenced her actions during the Revolution.
• She believed passionately in the ideals of the Revolution but felt that Jean-Paul Marat's radicalism was leading France towards tyranny; this conviction drove her to assassinate him on 13 July 1793.
• After murdering Marat, Corday famously declared that she had saved France from a tyrant, proving she was a woman of conviction, albeit one whose methods were controversial and deadly.
• Corday's trial was sensational; she remained calm and eloquent, garnering sympathy from some who viewed her as a tragic figure caught in the turmoil of the times.
• She was executed by guillotine on 17 July 1793, just four days after the assassination, becoming a martyr for some who opposed the radical Jacobins and their rule.