Augustin Alexandre Darthé

Darthé, Augustin Alexandre 

Born Oct. 1, 1765, in St. Paul; died May 27, 1797, in Vendôme. Figure in the Great French Revolution.

As a student Darthé participated in the capture of the Bastille in 1789. In 1792 he was elected a member of the Directory from Pas-de-Calais Department. One of the most steadfast supporters of the Jacobin dictatorship during 1793–94, Darthé served as public prosecutor in 1794 on the tribunals of the cities of Arras and Cambrai, and he was the closest assistant to J. Lebon, the commissar of the Convention in the northern departments. After Thermidor in 1794, Darthé was arrested, but he was granted amnesty in October 1795. He joined the movement led by Babeuf and soon became one of its leaders and a member of the secret underground directory. Arrested in May 1796, Darthé was sentenced by the Vendóme court to be executed with Babeuf.