Jean Sylvain Bailly

Jean-Sylvain Bailly was born in 1736 son of court painter and custodian of the Louvre, Jacques Bailly.  Although initially attracted to the arts he found great success in the sciences particularly astronomy.  His Histoire de l’Astronomie gained him a place in the Academie Francaise in 1783.

In 1789 he was the president of the electoral district of Paris in which he lived and helped draw up their statement of complaint.  Due to his prominence within Parisian society he was elected First Deputy for Paris to the Estates General.  He was the first president of the National Assembly and led the events of the Tennis Court on the 20th of June.  He can be seen in David’s famous painting in the centre of the work.  On the 23rd of June he responded to the king’s order to disperse by stating, “I believe that the assembled nation is not able to receive such an order.”

Bailly was the first mayor of Paris under the new system of the commune and was present to award a revolutionary cockade to Louis XVI when he entered the city after the storming of the Bastille.  Bailly had some notable successes for example passing a law which made Jews full French citizens.  However he was not popular with all as Danton and Marat supported the creation of the 48 sections of Paris and sought to reduce Bailly’s power.  In 1790 Bailly managed to defeat Danton in the elections for mayor.

When the King failed in his attempt to flee France and was brought back to Paris the Cordeliers Club launched a petition calling for the announcement of a Republic.  This was to be signed on the Champ de Mars on the 17th of July 1791.  With thousands congregating it was believed that Bailly waved the red flag which announced martial law.  Lafayette brought in the National Guard who tried to get the crowd to disperse.  When they failed they opened fire on the crowd and fifty unarmed people were killed.  Bailly was blamed for what became known as the Massacre of the Champ De Mars.  Bailly retired as mayor by November.

He lived for a while in Nantes where he started to write his memoirs.  His rural ideal was not to last however when he was arrested and brought for trial in Paris.  He was a witness at Marie Antoinette’s trial and his own began shortly afterwards.  He was found guilty by the Revolutionary Tribunal of having “stifled the voice of the people” his defence that he declared martial law on the orders of the Constituent Assembly was not accepted and he was found guilty.  On the 12th November 1793 he was taken to Champ De Mars seen of his supposedly greatest crime and where the guillotine had been specially erected for his execution.

Barère on meeting up with the Estates General and seeing Mirabeau and Bailly.  Taken from Memoirs of Bertrand Barère Volume 1, H. S. Nichols, London (1896) p208-209

I was very young to form part of the finest assembly ever held in France, so I set myself to listen and observe. Two men attracted my attention more than the others: these were, on the one hand, the Count de Mirabeau, whose reputation as an orator, journalist, and politician was well known to this meeting; the other, M. Bailly, of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles- Lettres, was eminent for his social virtues, and much more so for his scientific attainments and his works on astronomy and his historic researches on the

Atlantic races. I made every effort to make the acquaintance of these illustrious deputies; my youth and admiration for talent were my claim to their notice.  I conversed with Mirabeau whenever I could get near him; his conversation, at once striking, witty, amiable and profound, and always in good taste and good style, attracted to his side all who heard him. M. Bailly was reserved, although full of mildness and good humour; he had, amidst his urbanity and good fellowship, great austerity of principle, perfect rectitude of conduct and great intellectual energy. These opposite characteristics, these diverse qualifications were most valuable points for a young deputy to study. Here I was, so to speak, the satellite of these two planets, in the political perturbations found in the irregular system of the States-General, assembled for a ministerial motive, but lacking any direction towards a national purpose.