Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793) was a French journalist and politician who played a leading role in the early years of the Revolution. His newspaper, L’Ami du peuple, openly incited violence against the “enemies of the people.” Marat is considered one of the main instigators of the September Massacres of 1792: 1,300 people were summarily executed, mainly royalists, refractory priests, and common criminals.
His assassination by Charlotte Corday allowed the most radical Jacobins to turn him into a martyr of the Revolution and justify the Reign of Terror.