Boissy d'Anglas

Boissy d'Anglas, FRANÇOIS ANTOINE, COUNT, French statesman, born at St Jean Chambre, in Ardèche, in 1756, was for some time mayor-domo to the Count of Provence (Louis XVIII.), and a member of the States-general. During the Reign of Terror, fear of the 'Mountain' kept him quiet; but, yielding to the solicitations of Tallien and Barère, he joined the conspiracy against Robespierre. Two months after the execution of the tyrant, he was elected secretary of the Convention; and shortly after, a member of the Committee of Public Safety, in which capacity he displayed remarkable talent and discretion. As director of the supply of provisions for Paris, he was exposed more than once to popular hatred, but firmness and presence of mind preserved him. He was afterwards president of the Council of Five Hundred; was called into the Senate by Napoleon; and made a peer by Louis XVIII. Through all the changes of the times he maintained the principles with which he had commenced his career. He died in Paris, October 20, 1826. His chief writings are: Recherches sur la Vie, les Ecrits, et les Opinions de Malesherbes (1819), and Études Littéraires et Poétiques d'un Vieillard (1826).