HomeNationsFranceAssembly 1791 92VERGNIAUD, Pierre-Victurnien
VERGNIAUD, Pierre-Victurnien

Pierre-Victurnien Vergniaud

b. 31 May 1753, Limoges, Haute-Vienne
d. 31 Oct 1793, Paris

Title: Président de l'Assemblée nationale (President of the National Assembly)
Term: 30 Oct 1791 - 15 Nov 1791
Chronology: 30 Oct 1791, election as president proclaimed by the National Assembly, session of the Assembly, Salle du Manège, Paris; assumed the chair immediately upon the proclamation of election [1, vol. XXXIV, p. 521]
15 Nov 1791, expiration of term; successor elected and proclaimed [1, vol. XXXV, p. 72]
Names/titles: Father's name was also spelled Verniau; alternative spelling of first name: Pierre -Victorien
Président de la Convention nationale (President of the National Convention) [10 Jan 1793 - 24 Jan 1793] (see details)
Biography:
Son of a merchant, who supplied provisions to the military; was educated by abbé Roby, Jesuit tutor; attended public school in Limoges; with the support of Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, future comptroller general of finance (1774-1776), he continued his education at the Collège du Plessis in Paris; studied law at Bordeaux, where he was admitted to the bar (1781); entered civil service as secretary to the president of the Parlement of Bordeaux; advocate in the Parlement of Bordeaux (1781); was elected a member of the administration of the département of Gironde (1790) and chairman of the jury in the Criminal Tribunal (1791); elected (31 Aug 1791) as a representative of Gironde to the Assemblée nationale (National Assembly) (1791-1792); was a member of the Girondin faction; served as Vice President (17 Oct 1791 - 30 Oct 1791) and President (30 Oct 1791 - 15 Nov 1791) of the National Assembly; was considered one of the greatest orators of the French Revolution; appointed a deputy member of the Commission extraordinaire des Douze (Extraordinary Commission of Twelve) (18 Jun 1792 - 21 Sep 1792); on behalf of the Extraordinary Commission, he proposed the suspension of King Louis XVI (10 Aug 1792); was elected (5 Sep 1792) to the Convention nationale (National Convention) (1792-1793) as a deputy for Gironde; appointed a member of the committee for drafting the Constitution (10 Oct 1792); elected President of the National Convention (10 Jan 1793 - 24 Jan 1793); voted for the death sentence in the trial of Louis XVI and announced it as president of the Convention (17 Jan 1793); was put on the list of 29 Girondin deputies subject to arrest (2 Jun 1792) in the course of the Jacobin coup; condemned to death (30 Oct 1793) and guillotined (31 Oct 1793). Biography source: [2]

Elections:

Candidate Votes (30 Oct 1791)
Pierre-Victurnien Vergniaud 112
voters/absolute majority 211/106
Election result source: [1, vol. XXXIV, p. 521]

[1] Archives parlementaires. Série 1,
[2] Dictionnaire des parlementaires français 1789-1889,