Damiens

Damiens, Robert Francois, born near Arras in Artois, in France, in 1714, was forced to fly from Paris on charges of robbery and poisoning, and on his return found a quarrel in active progress between the Church and Parliament, in which the king was implicated. The motive of his crime, attributed by some to the Jesuits, by others to insanity, is uncertain, but as Louis XV., surrounded by his body-guard, was entering his carriage, he was stabbed by Damiens. The wretched man, after being horribly tortured, was torn to pieces by horses, and his family banished the country, 1757.