He was known as Dumas the Red – and not just because of his striking hair colour. He liked to appear in a blood-red coat, displaying his revolutionary resolve. At the height of the Reign of Terror, he handed down death sentences every day. As president of the Revolutionary Tribunal, he ensured that the defendants brought before him by Fouquier-Tinville were tried as swiftly as possible. The draconian Law of 22 Prairial helped him by sweeping away the last superfluous formalities. The prisons had to be emptied, and the length of trials adjusted to the capacity of the guillotine. Yet his tenure was brief. On 9 Thermidor, Dumas was arrested in the middle of a court session. He vacated his president’s chair, but the Commune refused to imprison him. Dumas joined the insurgents. During the night, he was captured at the Hôtel de Ville by troops of the Convention. The next day, his head fell on the Place de la Révolution in Paris.
April 9, 1794 · Dumas succeeds Martial Herman as president of the Revolutionary Tribunal.
July 27, 1794 · Dumas is arrested during a trial. Scellier takes over the proceedings. Released by the Commune, Dumas joins the insurgents gathered around Robespierre. Around midnight, he is captured at the Hôtel de Ville.
July 28, 1794 · Execution on the Place de la Révolution in Paris.
René-François Dumas lived to be 40 years old.
Quotes
His long, flowing frock coat, made of fine, lightweight cloth, was a blood-red colour that hurt the eyes. Charles Nodier on Dumas.
The government’s vigilance followed them to the very gates of the tomb they were digging for liberty. Dumas at the Jacobin Club on 10 April 1794, speaking about the Hébertists and Dantonists.
Well then, she conspired in silence. Dumas, after an accused woman’s deafness had been pointed out to him.
The insurgents gathered around Robespierre on the night of 9–10 Thermidor, shortly before the troops of the Convention storm the Hôtel de Ville. Dumas stands wearing a plumed hat. Robespierre holds a pistol in his hand.
He was known as Dumas the Red – and not just because of his striking hair colour. He liked to appear in a blood-red coat, displaying his revolutionary resolve. At the height of the Reign of Terror, he handed down death sentences every day. As president of the Revolutionary Tribunal, he ensured that the defendants brought before him by Fouquier-Tinville were tried as swiftly as possible. The draconian Law of 22 Prairial helped him by sweeping away the last superfluous formalities. The prisons had to be emptied, and the length of trials adjusted to the capacity of the guillotine. Yet his tenure was brief. On 9 Thermidor, Dumas was arrested in the middle of a court session. He vacated his president’s chair, but the Commune refused to imprison him. Dumas joined the insurgents. During the night, he was captured at the Hôtel de Ville by troops of the Convention. The next day, his head fell on the Place de la Révolution in Paris.
