French Revolution Timeline
Ten years that transformed France and the world.
1789: The Revolution Begins
May 5: Estates-General convenes at Versailles.
June 17: Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly.
June 20: Tennis Court Oath — Assembly vows to create constitution.
July 14: Storming of the Bastille — revolution's symbolic beginning.
August 26: Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen adopted.
October 5-6: Women's March on Versailles forces royal family to Paris.
1790-1791: Constitutional Monarchy
1790: Civil Constitution of the Clergy — Church under state control.
June 1791: Royal family's failed escape (Flight to Varennes).
September 1791: Constitutional monarchy established.
1792: War and Republic
April 1792: France declares war on Austria.
August 10: Mob storms Tuileries Palace; monarchy suspended.
September: September Massacres — 1,200 prisoners killed.
September 22: French Republic proclaimed.
1793: Terror Begins
January 21: Louis XVI executed by guillotine.
June: Jacobins seize power; Robespierre leads Committee of Public Safety.
October 16: Marie Antoinette executed.
The Reign of Terror begins: ~17,000 officially executed; perhaps 40,000 total deaths.
1794: Thermidor
July 27 (9 Thermidor): Robespierre arrested; executed the next day.
Terror ends. More moderate government (the Directory) takes over.
1795-1799: Directory
Corrupt, unstable government. Relies on military to suppress opposition.
1796-1797: Napoleon's Italian campaign makes him a hero.
November 9, 1799: Napoleon's coup ends the Directory.
The Revolution was over. The Napoleonic era began.
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