Chaumette

Chaumette, Pierre Gaspard, Revolutionist, was born in 1763 at Nevers. At first a seaman, then a clerk, he acquired great popularity in the time of the Revolution by his extreme views. He even rejected his name of Pierre, because it was associated with religion, and adopted the name of Anaxagoras in its place. Among his proposals were that every Parisian should wear wooden shoes, and that the gardens of the Tuileries and Luxembourg should be planted with potatoes. Ultimately he was brought to the guillotine on April 13, 1794.