Jean Sylvain Bailly | |
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%2c_savant_et_homme_politique_%2c_maire_de_Paris_de_1789_%25C3%25A0_1791_(P991)_-_P991_-_Mus%25C3%25A9e_Carnavalet.jpg) Portrait byJean-Laurent Mosnier, 1789 | |
| 1stMayor of Paris | |
| In office 15 July 1789 – 12 November 1791 | |
| Preceded by | Jacques de Flesselles (Provost of the Merchants) |
| Succeeded by | Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve |
| 1st President of theNational Constituent Assembly | |
| In office 17 June 1789 – 3 July 1789 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Jean Georges Lefranc de Pompignan |
| Deputy of the Estates-General | |
| In office 5 May 1789 – 9 July 1789 | |
| Constituency | Paris |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1736-09-15)15 September 1736 Paris, France |
| Died | 12 November 1793(1793-11-12) (aged 57) Paris, France |
| Cause of death | Guillotined |
| Political party | Patriotic (1790–1791) |
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Jean Sylvain Bailly (French:[ʒɑ̃silvɛ̃baji]; 15 September 1736 – 12 November 1793[1]) was a Frenchastronomer, mathematician,freemason,[2][3] and political leader of the early part of theFrench Revolution. He presided over theTennis Court Oath, served as themayor of Paris from 1789 to 1791, and was ultimatelyguillotined during theReign of Terror.
Born in Paris, Bailly was the son of Jacques Bailly, an artist and supervisor of theLouvre, and the grandson of Nicholas Bailly, also an artist and court painter. As a child he originally intended to follow in his family's footsteps and pursue a career in the arts. He became deeply attracted to science, however, particularlyastronomy, by the influence ofNicolas de Lacaille. An excellent student with a "particularly retentive memory and inexhaustible patience",[4] he calculated an orbit for the next appearance ofHalley's Comet (in 1759), and correctly reduced Lacaille's observations of 515 stars.[5] He participated in the construction of an observatory at theLouvre. These achievements along with others got him elected to theFrench Academy of Sciences in 1763.[4] In the years prior to theFrench Revolution, Bailly's distinctive reputation as a French astronomer led to his recognition and admiration by the European scientific community.[6]: 1 Due to his popularity amongst the scientific groups, in 1777, Bailly receivedBenjamin Franklin as a guest in his house in Chaillot.[6]: 2
Bailly published hisEssay on The Theory of the Satellites of Jupiter in 1766.a The essay was an expansion of a presentation he had made to the academy in 1763. He later released the noteworthy dissertation On the Inequalities of Light of the Satellites of Jupiterb in 1771. In 1778, he was elected a foreign member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Bailly gained a high literary reputation thanks to hisEulogies for KingCharles V of France,Lacaille,Molière,Pierre Corneille andGottfried Leibniz, which were issued in collected form in 1770 and 1790. He was admitted to theAcadémie française on 26 February 1784 and to theAcadémie des Inscriptions in 1785. From then on, Bailly devoted himself to thehistory of science. He publishedA History of Ancient Astronomyc in 1775, followed byA History of Modern Astronomy (3 vols., 1782).d Other works includeDiscourse on the Origin of the Sciences and the Peoples of Asia (1777),eDiscourse onPlato's'Atlantide' (1779),f andA Treatise on Indian and Oriental Astronomy (1787).g Though his works were "universally admired" by contemporaries,[4] later commentators have remarked that "their erudition was... marred by speculative extravagances."[1]
In a short period of time, Bailly made his way up the judicial ranks. From being the deputy of Paris, he was electedEstates-General on 20 May 1789.[7]: 96 Soon after he was elected inaugural president of theNational Assembly (3 June 1789)[7]: 98 and led the famousproceedings in the Tennis Court on 20 June, being the first to take the Tennis Court Oath.[8]: 359 In theNational Assembly (French Revolution) Bailly was one of the deputies who secured the passage of a decree that declared Jews to be French citizens on 17 September 1791. He was met with threats and ridicule for this action. This decree repealed the special taxes that had been imposed on the Jews, as well as all the ordinances existing against them.[9]
Bailly was a member of theClub de 1789, one of the best-known societies at the time.[6]: 98 Though calls on his time from his mayoral duties restricted his involvement in the group, by May 1790, Bailly had risen to presiding officer of the club. In 1791, Jean Sylvain Bailly joined the Jacobin Club, but took no active role in it.
Shortly after thestorming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, he became the firstmayor of Paris under the newly adopted system of theCommune.[8]: 348
On 15 July 1789, Bailly took office as the mayor of Paris. Two days later he was met byLouis XVI at theHôtel de Ville who was there to endorse the Revolution. Bailly presented him with the new symbol of the revolution: thecockade of France.[8]: 424
In his function asmayor, he was attacked byCamille Desmoulins andJean-Paul Marat as too conservative.[8]: 499 Bailly continuously sought to promote the authority of the mayor while limiting the power of the General Assembly of the Commune.
Jean Sylvain Bailly sought to be in full control of his administration as the mayor of Paris. He envisioned being in a position where all answered to him, and only his orders were to be followed. Creating a centralized government within Paris was his plan, however Parisians were not keen with this vision.[6]: 38 His views are depicted in the following passage of hisMémoires:
"... in the executive assembly, the mayor who presides over it is a specific officer of the commune. This Assembly possesses the totality of power, but its chief is its agent, its executive authority, who should be charged with the execution of its orders and the maintenance of its regulations. Moreover, since he is at the head of the administration, he understands all of its branches and has all of its strings in his hands. He is in a better position to detect the difficulties and the dangers than the other members who do not have the same information. If the law does not demand it, reason dictates that no important step be taken and no important questions be decided in his absence, unless he be allowed at least to make observations..."[10]
During the early years of the French Revolution, Paris was going through a major food shortage. Bailly's actions to circumvent the situation were of great importance in keeping the revolution alive. Bailly had deputies gather grain that was being hoarded, made the sale of wheat mandatory by farmers, and helped the bakers by making them first in line in the village markets.[6]: 42 Convoys that transported grain obtained by deputies were often attacked. To deter these attacks, Bailly signed a decree imposing a fine of five hundred livres on anyone found obstructing such convoys.[6]: 43 Not only did the mayor control the supply of grain in the city, but he also imported grain from Africa to increase the city's reserve. A provisional regime was established in October, 1789, in order to stabilize the administration of the government.[6]: 40 Doing so led to order being established within the different jurisdictions, allowing The Communal Assembly, with the help of Bailly, to gain control of the food crisis. By February, 1790, the situation in Paris had improved.[6]: 41
TheNational Guard, formed during the revolution by The Communal Assembly, was weak and underfunded. Lafayette, chief of the militia, could only do so much to strengthen this newly formed military. It took persuading to get funding from the Assembly to cover the cost and wages brought on by the troops.[6]: 49 Bailly saw the importance of having a military that was well-equipped. In the fall of 1789, Bailly was able to acquire ammunition for the troops. In October 1789, Bailly was involved in the establishment of the National Guard department, whose purpose was to arm the military. The mayor not only played a role in strengthening the National Guard, but also issued orders to Lafayette when trying to maintain civility within the city.[6]: 50 Bailly's use of troops was to secure the prisons, certify thedroits d'entrée would be collected, and to ensure that beggars would not congregate in the city.
In an unsuccessful attempt at financial reconstruction, the National Assembly had taken control of church property, making it available to buyers through the issue of non-negotiable bonds known as "assignats".[6]: 53 Bailly, along with the Municipal Bureau, then came up with a proposition on 10 March 1790, asking the government to give the city of Paris 200,000,000 livres worth of church land for it to sell to private investors in a period of three years. For their work in selling the land, Bailly and his administration would retain 50,000,000 livres. The National Assembly agreed to this deal.[6]: 53–54 On 2 August 1790, Bailly was reelected as mayor.[11][12] He allowed investors to begin the purchasing of church property.[6]: 55 Before a year had passed, 28,000,000 livres worth of land had already been sold.[6]: 56 Bailly's proposal proved successful in generating revenue for Paris and the French state.
After afailed attempt by the royal family to flee the country, Bailly tried to contain the growing republican crowds asking for the King to step down. On the morning of 17 July 1791, tensions were rising as suspicion of treason grew. Citizens suspected of criticising the government or National Guard were being interrogated and detained.[13]: 174–190 Bailly soon heard of a gathering at theChamp de Mars, where citizens were meeting to sign petitions calling for the overthrow of the King. Imposing martial law, he ordered the National Guard to disperse the large riotous assembly that had gathered. A violent response ensued and many people died, for which Bailly, along withLafayette, was considered responsible. What was to become known as theChamp de Mars Massacre was taken by the revolutionaries as an exemplar for oppression by the government.[13]: 174–190, 213 Having thereby become extremely unpopular, Bailly resigned on 12 November and was replaced four days later byJerôme Pétion. Bailly moved toNantes, where he composed hisMémoires d'un Témoin (published in 3 volumes by MM. Berville and Barrière, 1821–1822), an incomplete narrative of the extraordinary events of his public life.
In July 1793, Bailly left Nantes to join his friendPierre-Simon Laplace atMelun, but was recognized there and arrested. On 14 October, he was pressed totestify against Marie Antoinette but refused. On 10 November 1793, he was brought before theRevolutionary Tribunal in Paris, speedily tried, and sentenced to death the next day. On 12 November 1793, he was guillotined at theChamp de Mars, a site selected symbolically as the location of his betrayal of the republican movement. The little red flag he had used to give the order to fire on the crowds on the Champs de Mars was tied to the cart that took him to his death, and burned in front of him before he was executed.[14] It was the revival of this event as a part of republican heritage after 10 August 1792, as well as a campaign of municipal persecution led by Marat, that ultimately resulted in Bailly's execution, as well as that of "many of his colleagues".[13]: 213 Before his death, he was forced to endure the freezing rain and the insults of a howling mob. When a scoffer shouted,"Tu trembles, Bailly?" ("Do you tremble, Bailly?"), he responded,"Oui, mais c'est seulement de froid" ("Yes, but it is only the cold").[citation needed]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1906)."Bailly, Jean-Sylvain".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 455–456.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
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