Journalist, physician and politician Jean-Paul Marat, by the will of fate, became one of the leaders of the Great French Revolution. His personality is controversial: some are very positive about his activities, others consider him a cruel executioner, a disgusting and unworthy person. But few would disagree that Jean Paul Marat is a big and significant figure in the history of France.
Jean Paul Marat: wanderer and physician
Marat was born in May 1743 in the town of Budri (now it is the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland) in the family of a doctor. He lost his parents quite early, and at sixteen he left his native land. From that moment on, Marat had to take care of himself on his own.
For two years he was a tutor at a merchant's house in French Bordeaux. For the next ten years he lived in Holland and England, moving from place to place and earning money from medical practice and private lessons. At the same time, Jean Paul was constantly raising the level of his education.
In addition, during these years, Marat created a number of works on medicine, and thereby made himself a significant number of enemies. Already then he was distinguished by the passion of tone, the ability to attack authorities and bring them down.
In 1775, the University of Edinburgh awarded Marat the title of Doctor of Medicine. And from 1779 until 1787, Marat served as a doctor in the state of the Count d'Artois in France.
Journalistic and political activities
Marat's first political book, Chains of Slavery, was published in 1774. In it, he denounced tyranny and sang the values of freedom and equality. Six years later, in 1780, Marat wrote a treatise for the competition called "The Plan of Criminal Legislation." In this work, he advocated the mitigation of punishment for some crimes (the revolutionary believed that crime in many cases is a consequence of poverty and poverty).
In the eighties, Marat was very consistent in protecting the interests of the poor. And in 1789, when the revolution broke out in France, Marat decided to publish the newspaper "Friend of the People". And it turned out to be the most important milestone in his career. The newspaper made Marat a cult figure. The nickname "friend of the people" stuck to him.
He allowed himself to criticize the most dignitaries for their misconduct. In the texts published on newspaper pages, both kings and ministers and members of the National Assembly got it. The "friend of the people" was constantly under the pressure of state structures. But always, when Marat was summoned to court, he managed to deftly wriggle out. His newspaper had a fantastic popularity, and greatly contributed to the spread of protest sentiments in Paris.
With each new issue of "Friend of the People", the number of Marat's ill-wishers grew. And this forced him to go into an illegal position. At the height of the revolution, at the end of 1791, Marat even left for Great Britain. But on the calm London streets, the revolutionary was uncomfortable - he was used to being at the forefront of events. After a short absence, the unsinkable Marat returned to Paris. This happened in April 1792.
Last months of life and death
Marat was considered one of the leaders of the Jacobin movement. It is one of the two most influential movements of the French Revolution, the second, less radical - the Girondins. In June 1793, the Jacobins were able to take power completely into their own hands - at the request of the inhabitants of Paris, all the Girondins deputies were expelled from the Convention - another victory in the biography of Marat.
But the journalist and revolutionary could no longer enjoy this victory in full - a serious skin disease with which he was infected, apparently, in England, became aggravated. How did Marat live in his last days? He was constantly at home and, in order to alleviate the strongest itching of the skin, lay for a long time in a bathtub filled with water. In this position, he wrote texts, and also communicated with the guests who visited him.
On July 13, 1793, Charlotte Corday, an ardent follower of the ideas of the Girondins, snuck into Marat's house. She coldly stabbed the sick man with a knife. So the life of a revolutionary was cut short.
