Antoine Christophe Merlin (13 September 1762 in

Thionville Thionville (; ; ) is a city in the northeastern French Departments of France, department of Moselle (department), Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle (river), Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionvi ...

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

– September 1833 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a member of several legislative bodies during the era of the French Revolution. He is usually called Merlin de

(Merlin of Thionville) to distinguish him from

Philippe-Antoine Merlin de Douai Philippe-Antoine Merlin, known as Merlin de Douai (, 30 October 1754 – 26 December 1838), was a French politician and lawyer. Early life Merlin de Douai was born at Arleux, Nord, and was called to the Flemish bar association in 1775. He coll ...

Life

He was born at Thionville, the son of a ''procureur'' in the '' bailliage'' of Thionville. After studying theology, he began a career in law, and in 1788 was an ''avocat'' at the ''

parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...

'' of

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. In 1790 he was elected municipal officer of Thionville, and was sent by the department of

to the Legislative Assembly. On 23 October 1791 he moved and carried the institution of a committee of surveillance, of which he became a member. It was he who proposed the law sequestrating the property of the

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

s, and he took an important part in the

Demonstration of 20 June 1792 The Demonstration of 20 June 1792 () was the last bloodless attempt made by the revolutionaries of Paris to persuade King Louis XVI of France to abandon his current policy and adopt a more compliant role in the escalating frenzy of the French R ...

and in the revolution of 10 August of the same year. He was elected deputy to the

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

, and pressed for the execution of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, but a mission to the army prevented his attending the trial. He displayed great bravery in the defence of Mainz. He took part in the

Thermidorian Reaction In the historiography of the French Revolution, the Thermidorian Reaction ( or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespierre on 9 Thermidor II, or 27 J ...

which brought about the fall of

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fer ...

, and was appointed to the

Committee of General Security The Committee of General Security () was a parliamentary committee of the French National Convention which acted as police agency during the French Revolution. Established as a committee of the Convention in October 1792, it was designed to protec ...

on 31 July 1794.Chronicle of the French Revolution, Longman Group 1989 p.437 He sat in the

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred () was the lower house of the legislature of the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the French Directory, Directory () period of t ...

under the Directory, and at the

Coup of 18 Fructidor The Coup of 18 Fructidor, Year V (4 September 1797 in the French Republican Calendar), was a seizure of power in France by members of the French Directory, Directory, then forming the government of the First French Republic, with support from th ...

(4 September 1797) demanded the deportation of certain republican members. In 1798 he ceased to be a member of the Council of Five Hundred, and was appointed director-general of posts, being sent subsequently to organize the Army of Italy. He retired into private life at the proclamation of the

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

, and lived in retirement under the Consulate and the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

Bibliografie

* 1828-1830
''Questions de droit qui se présentent le plus fréquemment dans les tribunaux''. Tome premier, a.-app.Tome deuxième, app-ban.Tome troisième, bel.-com.Tome quatrième, com.-cur.Tome cinquième, dat.-dom.Tome sixième, don.-epo.Tome septième, err.-gru.Tome huitième, hér.-ins.Tome neuvième, ins.-mar.Tome dixième, mar.-nul.Tome onzième, obl.-pré.Tome douzième, pre.-ren.Tome treizième, ren.-rét.Tome quatorzième, réu.-sub.Tome cinquième, sub.--tes.Tome seizième, tie.--wis.
Quatrième édition, revue, corrigée et considérablement augmentée

References

Attribution * * The 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' gives as its reference J. Reynaud, ' (Paris, 1860). {{DEFAULTSORT:Merlin, Antoine Christophe 1762 births 1833 deaths People from Thionville People of the French Revolution Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Deputies to the French National Convention

Life

Bibliografie

See also

References