Couthon, Georges

(1755-1794)

   revolutionary, political figure

   Born in Orcet, Auvergne, Georges Couthon was an attorney in Clermont-Ferrand, where he served as president of the city tribunal (1789) and gained a reputation for fairness and prudence. At the beginning of the revolution of 1789, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly and sat with the democratic Left. Reelected to the Convention as a montagnard, he became a member of the Committee of Public Safety (July 10, 1793) and, forming a triumvirate with maximilien robespierre and louis saint-just, took control of the government. He showed a certain moderation in the repression of the federalist and royalist insurrection at lyon (late August-early September 1793), and could not bring himself to destroy that city completely, as was ordered by the Convention. Meanwhile, returning to Paris, he was elected president of the Legislative Assembly (December 12, 1793) and fought strongly against the Hébertists as well as the Dantonists, or Indulgents. He was also largely responsible for the Convention's adopting the Law of 22 Prairial (June 10, 1794), which reorganized the Revolutionary Tribunal by eliminating defense attorneys, witnesses, and preliminary instruction in the trials of suspects. On 9 Thermidor (July 27, 1794), Cou-thon was ordered arrested along with Robespierre, and was guillotined the next day.