Civic guard service
Danton entered civic guard activity in Paris, connecting his district prominence with the new institutions of citizen protection.
Role range: 1789-1792
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Georges Jacques Danton Biography and Timeline
Follow Georges Jacques Danton through 168 dated historical records for France.
Georges Jacques Danton, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
168Distinct records
1 of 5Page
1789–1792Years on this page
1789
Cordeliers district election
Danton became a leading elected voice in the Cordeliers district as Parisians reorganized neighborhood politics after the beginning of the Revolution.
Role range: 1789-1792
District assembly leadership
The Cordeliers district's assemblies gave Danton a forum to challenge decisions imposed from above and to defend direct local participation.
Role range: 1789-1792
Paris municipal oversight
Danton's district pressed for scrutiny of municipal authority as revolutionary Paris disputed the powers of its new administrative leaders.
Role range: 1789-1792
Revolutionary political oratory
Danton's speeches in the early Revolution helped establish his reputation as an energetic advocate of popular intervention in public affairs.
Role range: 1789-1792
1790
Danton demands accountability of officeholders
Danton defended the principle that political representatives should remain answerable to citizens. The episode concerned cordeliers promote surveillance of authorities and affected the relationship between club activists and public authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Danton champions new rights society
Danton helped establish a radical society advocating the rights of citizens and closer scrutiny of elected officials. The episode concerned club founded in former cordeliers convent and affected the relationship between club activists and public authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Danton treats collective petitions as legitimate
Danton's political circle defended collective applications to authorities as a means of checking power. This aspect of cordeliers press petition rights illustrates how press campaigns, popular sections and government decisions became connected.
Role range: 1789-1792
Cordeliers challenge municipal moderation
Danton's circle pressed for wider popular oversight of municipal officials. Its meetings demonstrated how neighborhood activism could challenge the more cautious city leadership.
Role range: 1789-1792
Danton supports open neighborhood debate
Danton's local connections helped the Cordeliers attract audiences beyond the wealthy political elite. The episode concerned accessible club meetings challenge elite politics and affected the relationship between club activists and public authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Club meetings in former convent
The Cordeliers used the former convent precinct for political gatherings, giving Danton's supporters a recognizable meeting place in central Paris.
Role range: 1789-1792
Cordeliers Club establishment
Danton helped create the Cordeliers Club, which developed into an important organization for radical petitions and public debate.
Role range: 1789-1792
Dispute over district autonomy
Danton defended the rights of Parisian districts during debates about replacing the older districts with a new structure of municipal sections.
Role range: 1789-1792
Opposition to political prosecutions
Danton's circle resisted attempts to suppress outspoken radicals, including conflicts surrounding the journalist Jean-Paul Marat.
Role range: 1789-1792
Paris Commune election
Danton entered the Paris Commune, obtaining a position within municipal politics while retaining ties to neighborhood activists.
Role range: 1789-1792
1791
Danton challenges monarchy after Varennes
Danton and fellow radicals intensified scrutiny of Louis XVI once his secret flight became known. The episode concerned varennes flight destroys royal confidence and affected the relationship between club activists and public authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Varennes news reaches radicals: Suspicion of monarchy spreads
Danton's Cordeliers milieu treated news of the king's failed escape as evidence that monarchy could not be trusted. The crisis encouraged calls for a political settlement beyond simply restoring Louis XVI's authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Aftermath
Danton and Cordeliers militants use the flight to intensify pressure against the monarchy
Role range: 1789-1792
Aftermath
Danton and Cordeliers militants use the flight to intensify pressure against the monarchy.
Role range: 1789-1792
Danton supports a new decision on kingship
Danton's circle insisted that the nation should reconsider Louis XVI's position after Varennes. The episode concerned republican petitions become flashpoint and affected the relationship between club activists and public authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Jacobin split over royal question: Cordeliers seek independent pressure
Danton and fellow Cordeliers favored mobilization outside parliamentary circles to contest restoration of the king. Their approach helped create the setting for the next day's petition at the Champ de Mars.
Role range: 1789-1792
Danton associated with Champ de Mars petition movement
Danton was linked to the radical petitioning movement that authorities sought to suppress. The episode concerned crowd gathers for republican petition and affected the relationship between club activists and public authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Municipality declares martial law: Repression threatens radicals
The declaration of martial law targeted the kind of mass politics cultivated by Danton's Cordeliers associates. It announced that municipal authorities would use military force to protect the constitutional settlement.
Role range: 1789-1792
Petition signatures gather: Club networks mobilize citizens
Danton's political associations encouraged petitioning as a public method of pressing the royal question. Crowds at the patriotic altar reflected both political commitment and intense distrust of the authorities.
Role range: 1789-1792
Petition to dethrone Louis XVI: Cordeliers popular petition
Danton was associated with the Cordeliers agitation urging a new settlement for the crown. Mass participation at the Champ de Mars showed how organized citizens could challenge a decision already favored by Assembly moderates.
Role range: 1789-1792
Danton evades escalating crackdown
The pursuit of radicals after the shooting made continued organization dangerous for Danton and his allies. The episode concerned champ de mars shooting triggers repression and affected the relationship between club activists and public authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Repression follows the shootings: Cordeliers militants targeted
Danton's club network faced heightened danger after the Champ de Mars crackdown. The threat of arrest and surveillance disrupted public agitation by advocates of a more radical settlement.
Role range: 1789-1792
Danton withdraws temporarily under pressure
Threats against radical activists after the shootings limited Danton's public organizing. The episode concerned political repression reshapes the cordeliers and affected the relationship between club activists and public authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Radical leaders evade crackdown: Temporary removal from Paris
Danton left France for a time after the political repression associated with the July demonstrations. His absence illustrates the personal consequences of the failed campaign against reinstating Louis XVI.
Role range: 1789-1792
Aftermath of Varennes
Uses the royal flight to intensify pressure against the monarchy
Role range: 1789-1792
Aftermath of Varennes
Uses the royal flight to intensify pressure against the monarchy.
Role range: 1789-1792
Danton enters municipal prosecutorial office
Danton took a post as deputy to the Commune's prosecutor, connecting radical neighborhood politics with formal municipal institutions. The appointment increased his visibility in civic affairs.
Role range: 1789-1792
Champ de Mars repression
National Guards fired on petitioners at the Champ de Mars, and Danton's political associates faced heightened pressure after the bloodshed.
Role range: 1789-1792
Cordeliers republican petition
Danton was associated with the Cordeliers' movement to seek a decision on the monarchy after the Varennes crisis.
Role range: 1789-1792
Departmental administration appointment
Danton was elected to the administration of the department of Paris, adding a departmental post to his revolutionary activities.
Role range: 1789-1792
Deputy prosecutor appointment
Danton became a deputy to the public prosecutor of the Paris Commune, a municipal office that widened his political influence.
Role range: 1789-1792
Reaction to flight to Varennes
After the royal family's failed flight, Danton joined those demanding a clear political reckoning over the king's reliability.
Role range: 1789-1792
Temporary departure from Paris
Danton left France temporarily following the crackdown associated with the Champ de Mars demonstrations before returning to revolutionary politics.
Role range: 1789-1792
1792
Danton's milieu supports pressure on royal court
Cordeliers activists helped sustain the climate of confrontation created by the royal vetoes and ministerial dismissals. The episode concerned armed petitioners enter the tuileries and affected the relationship between club activists and public authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Danton links section militants to political action
Danton worked within the revolutionary networks that supported overthrowing the monarchy. The episode concerned insurrectionary municipality prepares uprising and affected the relationship between club activists and public authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.