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May 5, 1789 Meeting with Estates General
The heads of each estate of France met to discuss issues in their lives. Because nothing was accomplished, the 3rd estate left the government to make their own government. -
Tennis Court Oath
Commitment to a national constitution and representative government, taken by delegates at the Estates-General at Versailles. -
Storming of Bastille
A state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. When the prison governor refused to comply, the mob charged and, after a violent battle, eventually took hold of the building. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
French National Constituent Assembly issued the Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen (Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen) which defined individual and collective rights at the time of the French Revolution. -
Women's March on Versailles
Concerned over the high price and scarcity of bread, women from the marketplaces of Paris led the March on Versailles. A crowd of women demanding bread for their families. -
Execution of King Louis XVI
After being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris. -
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Reign of Terror
The reign of terror was a period where many 1st, 2nd and 3rd estate members were targeted and executed. As a result, paranoia and mistrust spread across the people of France. -
Napoleonic Code is Established
It codified several branches of law, including commercial and criminal law, and divided civil law into categories of property and family. The Napoleonic Code made the authority of men over their families stronger, deprived women of any individual rights, and reduced the rights of illegitimate children. -
Napoleon Crowns Himself Emperor
Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor, and made Josephine Empress. Napoleon crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I at Notre Dame de Paris. -
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Peninsular War
British Army fought a war in the Iberian Peninsula against the invading forces of Napoleon's France. -
Napoleon and his Men March on Russia
The Grande Armée, led by French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, crossed the Neman River, invading Russia from present-day Poland. The result was a disaster for the French. The Russian army refused to engage with Napoleon's Grande Armée of more than 500,000 European troops. -
Napoleon is Exiled to Elba
Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France and one of the greatest military leaders in history, abdicates the throne, and, in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba. -
Napoleon Dies
Napoleon was subsequently exiled to the island of Saint Helena off the coast of Africa. Six years later, he died, most likely of stomach cancer, and in 1840 his body was returned to Paris, where it was interred in the Hotel des Invalides. -
Maximilien Robespierre's Execution
Robespierre and a number of his followers were arrested at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. The next day Robespierre and 21 of his followers were taken to the Place de la Révolution (now the Place de la Concorde), where they were executed by guillotine before a cheering crowd.