Edme-Bonaventure Courtois (born 15 July 1754 in

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

, France - died on 6 December 1816 in Brussels) was a deputy of the National Convention. He found the will of

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child and ...

in the collection of papers of

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

hidden under his bed.

Life

Courtois was the son of a baker. He met

Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In August ...

at the

College of Juilly The College of Juilly ( French: ''Collège de Juilly'') was a Catholic private teaching establishment located in the commune of Juilly, in Seine-et-Marne (France). Directed by the French Oratorians, it was created in 1638 by the congregationis ...

, where he finished his brilliant studies. He was a manufacturer of sabots at

Arcis-sur-Aube Arcis-sur-Aube (, literally ''Arcis on Aube'') is a commune in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of north-central France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arcisiens'' or ''Arcisiennes''. The commune has been awarded "th ...

. In 1787 his wife died. He was elected to the

Legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

as deputy of the

Aube Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),Montagnards Montagnard (''of the mountain'' or ''mountain dweller'') may refer to: *Montagnard (French Revolution), members of The Mountain (''La Montagne''), a political group during the French Revolution (1790s) **Montagnard (1848 revolution), members of the ...

. In 1791 he helped Danton to hide. Courtois, who compared Robespierre with

Catiline Lucius Sergius Catilina ( 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier. He is best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to violently seize control of the R ...

, was involved in the coup that led to the

fall of Robespierre The Coup d'état of 9 Thermidor or the Fall of Maximilien Robespierre refers to the series of events beginning with Maximilien Robespierre's address to the National Convention on 8 Thermidor Year II (26 July 1794), his arrest the next day, and ...

, together with

Laurent Lecointre Laurent Lecointre was a French politician, born at Versailles on 1 February 1742, and died at Guignes, Seine-et-Marne on 4 August 1805. He is also known under the name of "Lecointre de Versailles". Life Unlike almost all his colleagues of the Na ...

, the instigator. Lecointre contacted

Robert Lindet Jean-Baptiste Robert Lindet (2 May 1746 in Bernay, Eure – 17 February 1825) was a French politician of the Revolutionary period. His brother, Robert Thomas Lindet, became a constitutional bishop and member of the National Convention. Although ...

on the 6th, and Vadier on the 7th Thermidor. The other members were: Fréron,

Barras Barras may refer to: Places * Barras, Cumbria, England * Barras, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France * Barras, Piauí, Brazil * Duas Barras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Sete Barras, São Paulo, Brazil Other uses * Barras (surname) * Barras (market), a st ...

Tallien Jean-Lambert Tallien (, 23 January 1767 – 16 November 1820) was a French politician of the revolutionary period. Though initially an active agent of the Reign of Terror, he eventually clashed with its leader, Maximilien Robespierre, and is be ...

, Thuriot, Rovère, Garnier de l’Aube and Guffroy ( Fouché was not involved). They decided that

Hanriot Aéroplanes Hanriot et Cie. or simply 'Hanriot' was a French aircraft manufacturer with roots going back to the beginning of aviation. Founded by René Hanriot in 1910 as ''The Monoplans Hanriot Company Ltd.'' the company survived in different ...

, Dumas and the family Duplay had to be arrested first, so Robespierre would be without support. After the

9 Thermidor The Coup d'état of 9 Thermidor or the Fall of Maximilien Robespierre refers to the series of events beginning with Maximilien Robespierre's address to the National Convention on 8 Thermidor Year II (26 July 1794), his arrest the next day, and ...

, he was a member of the commission in charge of the inventory of the papers owned by

, including the will of Marie-Antoinette written in the

Conciergerie The Conciergerie () ( en, Lodge) is a former courthouse and prison in Paris, France, located on the west of the Île de la Cité, below the Palais de Justice. It was originally part of the former royal palace, the Palais de la Cité, which also ...

on her last day 16 October 1793. He published the famous report «Papiers inédits trouvés chez Robespierre, Saint-Just etc.» in February 1795. It is possible he added, and left papers out. From 15 October 1795 – 26 December 1799 he was a member of the Conseil des Anciens. In 1796 he produced: "Rapport fait au nom des comités de Salut public et de Sûreté générale sur les événements du 9 thermidor an II..." He purchased one of the finest hotels in the faubourg Saint-Honoré, with a beautiful garden on the Champs-Élysées. He contributed to the

coup of 18 Brumaire The Coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and led to the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor. This bloodless ''coup d'état'' overt ...

and was elected a member of the

Tribunat The was one of the four assemblies set up in France by the Constitution of Year VIII (the other three were the Council of State, the and the ). It was set up officially on 1 January 1800 at the same time as the . Its first president was the his ...

, however, suspicions of misappropriation forced him to withdraw as a member of the Tribunat in 1802. He then moved to chateau Rambluzin, near

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

, between his impressive collection of classical literature. For a while he was the mayor (1812-), but on 12 January 1816 during the Bourbon Restauration, when members of the parliament who voted the death of Louis XVI in 1793 and later supported the emperor, were condemned to exile, Courtois was forced to leave the country and moved to Brussels, leaving most of his collection (3723 items) behind. On 25 January 1816, he tried to avoid the ban by writing to the councillor of State by

Louis Becquey Louis Becquey (24 September 1760 – 2 May 1849) was a French counter-revolutionary. He was born in Vitry-le-François, Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in north ...

to make him aware that he had documents concerning the royal family, found in the papers of Robespierre, and that he offered to the King, including a letter written by Marie Antoinette to her sister-in-law

Madame Élisabeth Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

at the time of this ordeal, called "the testament of the Queen"; a glove that belonged to the Dauphin; a small bundle of hair from Marie-Antoinette. The collection was bought by

Richard Heber Richard Heber (5 January 1773 – 4 October 1833) was an English book-collector. Biography He was born in Westminster, as the eldest son of Reginald Heber, who succeeded his eldest brother as lord of the manors of Marton in Yorkshire and Hodnet ...

. He married twice, in 1776 and in 1789. It is possible he committed suicide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtois, Edme-Bonaventure 1754 births 1816 deaths