Robert-François Damiens (1715-1757) was a Frenchman who attained notoriety by unsuccessfully attempting the assassination of Louis XV of France in 1757. He was the last person to be executed in France with the traditional and gruesome form of death penalty used for regicides. Events September 1 - King Louis XIV of France dies after a reign of 72 years, leaving the throne of his exhausted and indebted country to his great-grandson Louis XV. Regent for the new, five years old monarch is Philippe dOrléans, nephew of Louis XIV. September - First of the... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... Louis XV King of France and Navarre Louis XV (February 15, 1710 - May 10, 1774), called the Well-Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé), was king of France from 1715 to 1774. ... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The broad definition of Regicide is the deliberate killing of a king. ...

Damiens was born in a village near Arras in 1715, and early enlisted in the army. After his discharge, he became a menial in the college of the Jesuits in Paris, and was dismissed from this as well as from other employments for misconduct, his conduct earning for him the name of Robert le Diable (Robert the Devil). During the disputes of Pope Clement XI with the parlement of Paris, Damiens' mind seems to have been excited by the ecclesiastical disorganization which followed the refusal of the clergy to grant the sacraments to the Jansenists and Convulsionnaires; and he appears to have thought that peace would be restored by the death of the king. He, however, asserted, perhaps with truth, that he only intended to frighten the king without wounding him severely. Arras ( Dutch: Atrecht) is a city and commune in northern France, préfecture (capital) of the Pas-de-Calais département. ... Servant has a number of meaning: A servant is another word for domestic worker, a person who is hired to provide regular household or other duties, and receives compensation. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Clement XI, né Giovanni Francesco Albani (July 23, 1649 - March 19, 1721) was pope from 1700 to 1721. ... Jansenism was a branch of Christian philosophy founded by Cornelius Jansen (1585-1638), a Flemish theologian. ...

On January 5, 1757, as the king was entering his carriage, Damiens rushed forward and stabbed him with a knife, inflicting only a slight wound. He made no attempt to escape, and was at once seized. He was then tortured so as to have him denounce his accomplices or those who had sent him, to no avail. He was condemned as a regicide by the Parlement of Paris, and sentenced to be torn in pieces by horses in the Place de Grève. He was first tortured with red-hot pincers; his hand, holding the knife used in the attempted murder, was burnt using sulphur; molten wax, lead, and boiling oil were poured into his wounds. Horses were then harnessed to his arms and legs for his dismemberment. Damiens' joints would not break; after some hours, representatives of the Parlement ordered the executioner and his aides to cut Damiens' joints. Damiens was then dismembered, to the applause of the crowd. His trunk, apparently still living, was then burnt at the stake. January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Aspects of torture Incrimination of innocent people One well documented effect of torture is that with rare exceptions people will say or do anything to escape the situation, including untrue confessions and implication of others without genuine knowledge, who may well then be tortured in turn. ... At law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offence. ... The broad definition of Regicide is the deliberate killing of a king. ... Parlements (pronounced in French) in ancien régime France — contrary to what their name would suggest to the modern reader — were not democratic or political institutions, but law courts . ... General Name, Symbol, Number sulfur, S, 16 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16 (VIA), 3, p Density, Hardness 1960 kg/m3, 2 Appearance Lemon yellow at STP Atomic properties Atomic weight 32. ...

After his death his house was razed to the ground, his brothers and sisters were ordered to change their names, and his father, wife, and daughter were banished from France.

Damiens' execution is described and discussed at length in the introduction to Michel Foucault's study of systems of punishment, Discipline and Punish. Michel Foucault Michel Foucault (October 15, 1926 – June 26, 1984) was a French philosopher and held a chair at the Collège de France, a chair to which he gave the title The History of Systems of Thought. His writings have had an enormous impact on academia: Foucaults influence extends... Discipline and Punish (subtitled The Birth of the Prison) is a book written by the philosopher Michel Foucault. ...

External links

• An account on Damiens' actions and death (http://www.alsapresse.com/jdj/99/01/06/MA/article_12.html) (in French)

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica ( 1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...