Director of Jury
Vergniaud became director of the jury at the criminal tribunal of the Gironde before entering national politics.
Role range: 1789-1792
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud Biography and Timeline
Follow Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud through 41 dated historical records for France.
Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
41Distinct records
1 of 2Page
1791–1793Years on this page
1791
Election to Legislative Assembly
Vergniaud was elected to the Legislative Assembly as a deputy for the Gironde.
Role range: 1789-1792
Legislative Assembly
Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud took his seat in the Legislative Assembly.
Role range: 1789-1792
Legislative Assembly
Takes his seat in the Legislative Assembly
Role range: 1789-1792
Royal Titles Debate
Vergniaud argued that parliamentary language should abandon the royal forms of address 'Sire' and 'Majesty'.
Role range: 1789-1792
Vice-President of Legislative Assembly
Vergniaud was elected vice-president of the Legislative Assembly as his influence among the left increased.
Role range: 1789-1792
President of Legislative Assembly
Vergniaud became president of the Legislative Assembly during disputes over emigres and royal authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
Debate over Royal Forms of Address
Vergniaud challenged ceremonial deference to the king in parliamentary language, reflecting a legislature increasingly conscious of its representative authority.
Role range: 1789-1799
Emigre Measures Pressed in Parliament
Vergniaud and like-minded deputies supported measures directed at exiles plotting across the borders, increasing tension with royal authorities.
Role range: 1789-1799
Legislative Assembly Opens under New Constitution
Vergniaud took his seat as the legislature elected under the Constitution of 1791 replaced the National Constituent Assembly.
Role range: 1789-1799
Vergniaud Becomes Assembly President
Vergniaud assumed the chair during a period of crisis involving emigrant military concentrations and doubts over the king's loyalty.
Role range: 1789-1799
Vergniaud Chosen Assembly Vice-President
Vergniaud's election as vice-president recognized his rising influence among deputies as disputes over emigres and royal power intensified.
Role range: 1789-1799
1792
War with Austria
Jacobins and Girondins debate the war after France declares war on Austria
Role range: 1789-1795
War with Austria
Jacobins and Girondins debate the war after France declares war on Austria.
Role range: 1789-1795
Abdication Clause Speech
Vergniaud argued that the Constitution allowed the king to be treated as having abdicated if he failed to resist armed enemies.
Role range: 1789-1792
Election of Convention authorized - Military consequence
Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud figured in events surrounding election of convention authorized at Paris. The measure opened a path toward a different constitutional settlement rather than immediate restoration of the crown. It demonstrated the decisive influence of armed citizens and soldiers in the struggle over the royal government.
Role range: 1789-1792
Election of Convention authorized
Deputies resolved to convene a newly elected National Convention after suspending the king. The measure opened a path toward a different constitutional settlement rather than immediate restoration of the crown.
Role range: 1789-1792
Royal powers suspended - Political consequence
Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud figured in events surrounding royal powers suspended at Paris. Vergniaud was a prominent deputy in the chamber that confronted the overthrow of the constitutional monarchy. The episode hastened the failure of the constitutional monarchy and intensified arguments for a newly elected national assembly.
Role range: 1789-1792
Royal powers suspended
The Legislative Assembly voted to suspend Louis XVI from exercising royal authority after the insurrection. Vergniaud was a prominent deputy in the chamber that confronted the overthrow of the constitutional monarchy.
Role range: 1789-1792
Election to National Convention
Gironde electors returned Vergniaud to national office, sending the prominent orator to the new Convention.
Role range: 1789-1792
Monarchy abolished by Convention - Historical significance
Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud figured in events surrounding monarchy abolished by convention at Paris. The earlier suspension of Louis XVI thereby became a definitive change in the French state. This development formed part of the chain that led to the Republic being proclaimed after the National Convention assembled.
Role range: 1789-1792
Monarchy abolished by Convention
The newly assembled National Convention formally abolished the monarchy in September following the August insurrection. The earlier suspension of Louis XVI thereby became a definitive change in the French state.
Role range: 1789-1792
Abdication Clause Invoked in Debate
Vergniaud suggested that the king's failure to defend the Constitution might trigger its provisions treating the monarch as having abdicated.
Role range: 1789-1799
Assembly Debates the King's Legal Responsibility
Vergniaud participated in arguments over how the Convention should prosecute Louis XVI without undermining the new republic's claim to lawful government.
Role range: 1789-1799
Brunswick Manifesto Alarms the Legislature
Vergniaud and other deputies confronted threats issued by the invading command, which deepened suspicions of collusion between the court and foreign armies.
Role range: 1789-1799
Deportation Proposal for Refractory Clergy
Vergniaud participated in a legislature that adopted restrictive measures against nonjuring priests, provoking objections over liberty of conscience and royal sanction.
Role range: 1789-1799
Foreign War Transforms Parliamentary Politics
Vergniaud supported the national war effort as fears of invasion intensified attacks on court ministers and allegedly disloyal officers.
Role range: 1789-1799
Girondin Orators Challenge Royal Ministers
Vergniaud joined criticism of ministers suspected of weakness or disloyalty during the growing threat of foreign intervention.
Role range: 1789-1799
Insurrection Erupts on Ten August
Vergniaud participated in the legislature's emergency deliberations as insurgents attacked the Tuileries and the constitutional monarchy collapsed.
Role range: 1789-1799
Legislative Assembly Holds Final Session
The Assembly ended its term as the new National Convention assembled, closing the short experiment in constitutional monarchy.
Role range: 1789-1799
Legislature Debates Revolutionary War Emergency
Vergniaud and fellow deputies struggled to maintain legal authority as a new Paris Commune and foreign invasion complicated national governance.
Role range: 1789-1799
Legislature Manages Transition after Valmy
News of French resistance at Valmy arrived as the Legislative Assembly surrendered authority to the Convention, linking military survival to republican change.
Role range: 1789-1799
Legislature Suspends the King
The Assembly suspended Louis XVI's functions after the insurrection, temporarily ending effective royal authority without waiting for a new constitution.
Role range: 1789-1799
National Convention Election Ordered
Deputies approved elections to a new Convention empowered to determine France's future government, superseding the constitutional settlement of 1791.
Role range: 1789-1799
Parliamentary Debate Follows Ministerial Dismissals
Vergniaud and fellow deputies challenged the court's dismissal of reforming ministers as the split between legislature and crown widened.
Role range: 1789-1799
1793
President of National Convention
Vergniaud took the Convention's presidential chair during the decisive January phase of Louis XVI's trial.
Role range: 1793-1799
Louis XVI Found Guilty
Vergniaud presides as the Convention concludes that Louis XVI is guilty of conspiracy against public liberty and the security of the state.
Role range: 1789-1799
Death Sentence for Louis XVI
Vergniaud announces the result of the Convention's roll-call vote imposing the death penalty on Louis XVI.
Role range: 1789-1799
Reprieve for Louis XVI Rejected
Vergniaud oversees the final proceedings as the Convention rejects a proposed delay of the sentence against Louis XVI.
Role range: 1789-1799
Tribunal Convicts Girondin Parliamentary Leaders
Vergniaud was among leading Girondins condemned after the collective trial. Their conviction destroyed a major group of opponents of the Mountain.
Role range: 1793-1799
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.