Jacques Guillaume Thouret
Encyclopedia
Jacques Guillaume Thouret (30 April 1746 – 22 April 1794) was a French
Girondin revolutionary, lawyer, president of the National Constituent Assembly
and victim of the guillotine
.
to a notary
father, Thouret became an avocat at the parlement
of Rouen
in 1773, and in 1787 produced a much-approved report on the state of Normandy. In 1788 he participated in the agitation that contributed to the recall of the Estates-General
. Thouret was elected deputy to the Estates-General by the third estate of Rouen, and in the Constituent Assembly
his eloquence gained him great influence. Like so many lawyers of his time, he was violently opposed to the clergy, and strongly supported the secularization
of church property. He also obtained the suppression of the religious orders and of all ecclesiastical privileges, and actively contributed to the change of the judiciary and administrative system; in particular, he demanded the writing of a uniform civil code
. Thouret was also one of the promoters of the decree of 1790 by which France was divided into départements, and was four times president of the Constituent Assembly
.
Article five of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was adopted on his initiative. On 3 September 1791, a deputation of sixty members of the Constituent Assembly under the presidency of Thouret presented the 1791 Constitution
to Louis XVI
; on 13 September, the King addressed the Assembly, declaring that he accepted the Constitution.
After the Assembly's dissolution, Thouret became a member, and then in 1793 president, of the Court of Cassation
. He was included in the proscription of the Girondist
s, whose political opinions he shared, and was guillotined in Paris during the Reign of Terror
.
His brother, Michel Augustin Thouret (1748–1810), a physician, was a key opponent of the ideas of Franz Mesmer
and a promoter of vaccination
in France.
A bust of Thouret and dedication plaque can also be seen in Rue Thouret, Rouen
, a street named in his honour.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Girondin revolutionary, lawyer, president of the National Constituent Assembly
National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
and victim of the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
.
Life
Born at Pont-l'ÉvêquePont-l'Évêque, Calvados
Pont-l'Évêque is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France. It has given its name to a type of soft cheese .-Population:-Transport:* A13 autoroute* A132 autoroute...
to a notary
Civil law notary
Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...
father, Thouret became an avocat at the parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
of Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
in 1773, and in 1787 produced a much-approved report on the state of Normandy. In 1788 he participated in the agitation that contributed to the recall of the Estates-General
Estates-General of 1789
The Estates-General of 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the nobility, the Church, and the common people...
. Thouret was elected deputy to the Estates-General by the third estate of Rouen, and in the Constituent Assembly
National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
his eloquence gained him great influence. Like so many lawyers of his time, he was violently opposed to the clergy, and strongly supported the secularization
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
of church property. He also obtained the suppression of the religious orders and of all ecclesiastical privileges, and actively contributed to the change of the judiciary and administrative system; in particular, he demanded the writing of a uniform civil code
Napoleonic code
The Napoleonic Code — or Code Napoléon — is the French civil code, established under Napoléon I in 1804. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified...
. Thouret was also one of the promoters of the decree of 1790 by which France was divided into départements, and was four times president of the Constituent Assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
.
Article five of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was adopted on his initiative. On 3 September 1791, a deputation of sixty members of the Constituent Assembly under the presidency of Thouret presented the 1791 Constitution
French Constitution of 1791
The short-lived French Constitution of 1791 was the first written constitution of France. One of the basic precepts of the revolution was adopting constitutionality and establishing popular sovereignty, following the steps of the United States of America...
to Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
; on 13 September, the King addressed the Assembly, declaring that he accepted the Constitution.
After the Assembly's dissolution, Thouret became a member, and then in 1793 president, of the Court of Cassation
Court of Cassation (France)
The French Supreme Court of Judicature is France's court of last resort having jurisdiction over all matters triable in the judicial stream but only scope of review to determine a miscarriage of justice or certify a question of law based solely on points of law...
. He was included in the proscription of the Girondist
Girondist
The Girondists were a political faction in France within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution...
s, whose political opinions he shared, and was guillotined in Paris during the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
.
His brother, Michel Augustin Thouret (1748–1810), a physician, was a key opponent of the ideas of Franz Mesmer
Franz Mesmer
Franz Anton Mesmer , sometimes, albeit incorrectly, referred to as Friedrich Anton Mesmer, was a German physician with an interest in astronomy, who theorised that there was a natural energetic transference that occurred between all animated and inanimate objects that he called magnétisme animal ...
and a promoter of vaccination
Vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
in France.
Trivia
A bust of Thouret created in 1879 by Jules-Constant Destreez can be seen in the gallery of the second floor of the Court of Cassation.A bust of Thouret and dedication plaque can also be seen in Rue Thouret, Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, a street named in his honour.
Works
Besides his speeches and reports he wrote:- Tableau chronologique de l'Histoire ancienne et moderne
- Discours de M. Thouret devant l'Assemblée nationale fait au nom du comité de la Constitution : Sur l'obligation du roi de résider dans le royaume (1790)
- Abrégé des révolutions de l'ancien gouvernement français