| Timeline of King Louis XVI |
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1754 August 23 - Louis XVI (d.1793), King of France during the French Revolution who met his fate at the guillotine, was born. He ruled as king from 1774-1792. He was the grandson of Louis XV and married Marie Antoinette. 1755 November 2 - Marie Antoinette (d.1793), Queen of France, was born. She was the daughter of Maria Theresa and Francis I; and wife of Louis XVI in 1770 and thus Queen of France. She was arrested by the Revolutionary Tribunal and beheaded on October 15. 1760's - Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour built the La Petit Trianon at Versailles as a retreat. She died before it was finished. Louis XVI later gave it to Marie Antoinette. 1770 May 16 - Marie Antoinette, age 14, married the future King Louis XVI of France, who was 15. 1774 May 10 - King Louis XV died and was succeeded by his grandson Louis XVI. 1774 September 13 - Tugot, the new controller of finances, urged the king of France to restore the free circulation of grain in the kingdom. 1777 August 16 - France declared a state of bankruptcy. 1777 December 17 - France recognized American independence. 1778 July 10 - In support of the American Revolution, Louis XVI declared war on England. 1779 August 10 - Louis XVI freed last remaining serfs on royal land. 1780 August 24 - King Louis XVI abolished torture as a means to get suspects to confess. 1787 July 30 - The French Parliament refused to approve a more equitable land tax. 1787 September 4 - Louis XVI of France recalled Parliament. 1787 November 29 - Louis XVI promulgated an edict of tolerance, granting civil status to Protestants. 1788 July 6 - Ten thousand troops were called out in Paris as unrest mounted in the poorer districts over poverty and lack of food. 1788 July 15 - Louis XVI jailed 12 deputies who protest new judicial reforms. 1788 September 23 - Louis XVI of France declared the Parliament restored. 1788 September 24 - After having been dissolved, the French Parliament of Paris reassembled in triumph. 1789 June 17 - The Third Estate in France declared itself a national assembly, and undertook to frame a constitution. 1789 July 9 - In Versailles, the French National Assembly declared itself the Constituent Assembly and began to prepare a French Constitution. 1789 July 15 - The electors of Paris set up a "Commune" to live without the authority of the government. 1789 August 26 - The Constituent Assembly in Versailles, France, approved the final version of the Declaration of Human Rights. 1789 October 10 - In Versailles, France, Joseph Guillotine said the most humane way of carrying out a death sentence is decapitation by a single blow of a blade. 1789 December 13 - The National Guard was created in France. 1789 - The Marquis de Lafayette wrote the original version of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. He was appalled by the excesses of the revolution and fled to Austria where he was imprisoned for 5 years. 1790 Jan 21 - Joseph Guillotine proposed a new, more humane method of execution: a machine designed to cut off the condemned person's head as painlessly as possible. 1790 July 12 - The French Assembly approved a Civil Constitution providing for the election of priests and bishops. 1790 July 26 - An attempt at a counter-revolution in France was put down by the National Guard at Lyons. 1791 April 18 - National Guardsmen prevented Louis XVI and his family from leaving Paris. 1791 June 20 - King Louis XVI of France attempted to flee the country in the so-called Flight to Varennes, but was caught. 1791 June 21 - The French royal family was arrested in Varennes. 1791 July 16 - Louis XVI was suspended from office until he agreed to ratify the constitution. 1791 July 17 - National Guard troops opened fire in Paris on a crowd of demonstrators calling for the deposition of the king. 1791 September 14 - Louis XVI solemnly swore his allegiance to the French Constitution. 1791 October 1 - In Paris, the National Legislative Assembly held its first meeting. 1792 March 20 - In Paris, the Legislative Assembly approved the use of the guillotine. 1792 August 11 - A revolutionary commune was formed in Paris, France. 1792 September 21 - The French National Convention voted to abolish the monarchy. 1792 September 22 - The French Republic was proclaimed. 1792 December 11 - France's King Louis XVI went before the Convention to face charges of treason. Louis was convicted and executed the following month. 1793 January 21 - In France the Great Terror continued. Louis XVI, condemned for treason, was executed on the guillotine. The vote for execution in the National Convention won by a margin of one vote. 1793 October 16 - Marie Antoinette was beheaded. Madame Tussaud used her severed head as a model for her wax bust death mask. 1794 May 10 - Elizabeth, the sister of King Louis XVI, was beheaded. |