Hébert, Jacques (-René)

(born Nov. 15, 1757, Alençon, France—died March 24, 1794, Paris) French Revolutionary political journalist and chief spokesman for the extremist sansculottes. He wrote political satires under his pen name, and his newspaper, Le Père Duchesne, was widely read. He became influential in the Cordeliers Club and with his followers, called Hébertists, helped overthrow the monarchy in 1792. He strongly supported the conversion of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame and 2,000 other churches to the worship of Reason. As spokesman for the sansculottes, he pressured the Jacobin regime to institute the Reign of Terror. By 1794 he was regarded as a dangerous extremist, and the Committee of Public Safety had him arrested and guillotined.