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Philippe-Jacques Rühlb. 3 May 1737, Strasbourg |
| Title: | Président de la Convention nationale (doyen d'âge) [President of the National Convention] |
| Term: | 20 Sep 1792 - 20 Sep 1792 |
| Chronology: | 20 Sep 1792, assumed the chair as the oldest deputy of the Convention nationale (National Convention) present, session of the Convention, salle des Cent-Suisses, Palais des Tuileries, Paris; assumed the chair immediately upon the proclamation of election [1, vol. LII, p. 66]; ceded the chair to the elected president [1, vol. LII, p. 67] |
| Term: | 6 Mar 1794 - 21 Mar 1794 |
| Chronology: | 6 Mar 1794, election as president proclaimed by the National Convention, session of the Convention, salle des Machines, Palais des Tuileries, Paris [1, vol. LXXXVI, p. 147] [2, vol. XXXIII, pp. 64-65] |
| 7 Mar 1794, assumed the chair as President of the National Convention first time after the proclamation of election, session of the Convention, salle des Machines, Palais des Tuileries, Paris [1, vol. LXXXVI, p. 147] | |
| 21 Mar 1794, expiration of term; successor elected and proclaimed [1, vol. LXXXVII, p. 58] [2, vol. XXXIV, p. 30] |
| Biography: | |||||||
Son of a Lutheran minister; studied theology at the University of Strasbourg; director of gymnasium at Durckheim, Germany; served as a tutor at the princely court of Leinigen-Dachsburg (Linange-Hartenbourg); as court counselor, participated in settling succession dispute with the Italian branch of the family; returned to Alsace, where became administrator of the département of Bas-Rhin; elected (31 Aug 1791) as a representative of Bas-Rhin to the Assemblée nationale (National Assembly) (1791-1792); sat with the extreme left wing of the deputies; member of the Commission extraordinaire des Douze (Extraordinary Commission of Twelve) (18 Jun 1792 - 21 Sep 1792); elected (4 Sep 1792) to the Convention nationale (National Convention) (1792-1795) as a deputy for Bas-Rhin; presided at the first session of the Convention as the oldest deputy present (20 Sep 1792); joined the Montagne faction; was absent from the Convention during the trial of King Louis XVI; member of the Comité de sûreté générale (Committee of General Security) (14 Sep 1793 - 31 Aug 1794); sent on missions as representative of the Convention to Marne and Haute-Marne (16 Sep 1793 - 3 Nov 1793) for levée en masse, and to Bas-Rhin (23 Nov 1793 - 8 Jan 1794) for organizing the district of Neu-Saarwerden; showed his revolutionary zeal by breaking the vessel containing the sacred oil for anointment of the French kings at Reims (8 Oct 1793); served as President of the National Convention (6 Mar 1794 - 21 Mar 1794); sent as representative of the Convention to Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin (24 Jul 1794 - 25 Aug 1794, left Paris 1 Aug 1794); participated in the revolt of 1 Prairial, Year III (20 May 1795), addressing the insurgents with the words "Du pain et la Constitution de 1793!" ("Bread and Constitution of 1793!"); was threatened with indictment, but subjected to house arrest "in view of his advanced age"; called before the military commission (28 May 1795) and committed suicide by stabbing himself with a dagger. Biography source: [3][4] |
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| Election results: | |||||||
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| Election result source: [1, vol. LXXXVI, p. 147] | |||||||
| Sources and notes: | |||||||
| [1] | Archives parlementaires de 1787 à 1860: recueil complet des débats législatifs et politiques des Chambres françaises. Première série, 1787 à 1799 (Paris: 1868-1913, 1966-) | ||||||
| [2] | Procès-verbal de la Convention nationale, imprimé par son ordre; (Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1792-an IV) | ||||||
| [3] | Dictionnaire des Conventionnels, by Auguste Kuscinski (Paris: Société de l'Histoire de la Révolution française & Librairie F. Rieder, 1917). | ||||||
| [4] | Dictionnaire historique de la Révolution française, ed. by Albert Soboul, Jean-René Suratteau, François Gendron (Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 2004). | ||||||
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