Barnave

Barnave, Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie, was born at Grenoble, France, in 1761, and at the outbreak of the Revolution was sent to the National Assembly as deputy for Dauphine. His eloquence and love of liberty soon brought him into prominence, and he was in 1790 elected president; but his popularity declined when it became apparent that he aimed at reforming rather than destroying the monarchy. He was sent as commissary to bring the king back from Varennes, and treated his prisoner with such respect that his presence was no longer tolerated in Paris. In 1792 some documents discovered in the famous Iron Chest showed that he had corresponded with the royal family. He was seized, and after fifteen months' imprisonment was sent to the guillotine in Paris.