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Jean-Sylvain Bailly (1736-1793). In 1785 this French astronomer was a member of the all three prestigious Acadamies in France - Acadamie Française, Acadamie des Beaux-arts and Acadamie des Sciences. Dubbed "the weeper" for his pleading oratory, he presided over the National Assembly Jeu de Paume session and was elected Mayor of Paris after the fall of the Bastille.
He then became more favourable towards Louis XVI (through intrigues with Marie Antoinette) and fell from public grace, suspected of involvement in the flight to Varennes. His popularity fell further still when he decreed martial law on the king's return and ordered La Fayette fire on a crowd of sans-culottes and disgruntled parisians congregated at the Champ-de-Mars to present a petition against Louis XVI. Now a figure of hate for the parisian mob, he resigned office on November 12th 1791. In September 1793 he was arrested, speaking on behalf of Marie-Antoinette during her trial the next month. This merciful act was enough to see him sent to the guillotine in his turn, on November 12th 1793.