COUTHON, Georges (1756-1794), one of the most notorious actors in the Reign of Terror, was born at Orsay (Orcet), a village in the district of Clermont in Auvergne, in 1756. He studied law, and was admitted advocate at Clermont in 1785. At this period he was noted for his integrity, gentle-heartedness, and charitable disposition. His health was feeble, and his body was half paralyzed from a recent misadventure. In 1787 he was a member of the provincial assembly of Auvergne. When the Revolution began Couthon avowed the most liberal sentiments, but at the same time spoke with great moderation. He became very popular, and was appointed chief magistrate of Clermont and president of the tribunal of the town. With the progress of events, however, his feelings rose to a higher pitch, and his sympathies were with the van of the Revolutionary army. In 1791 he was elected deputy to the legislative assembly; and here he soon took his place among the most violent of the Jacobins. He advocated extreme measures against the king. A visit to Flanders for the sake of health brought him into close intercourse and sympathy with Dumouriez. In September 1792 Couthon was elected member of the National Convention, and voted the death of the king without appeal. He soon attached himself to Robespierre, for whom at first he felt only aversion; and he was the first to demand the arrest of the proscribed Girondins. In July 1793 he became a member of the Committee of Public Safety, and in the following month he was sent as commissioner of the armv to conduct the siege of Lyons. Impatient at the slow progress made by the besieging force he collected a body of 60,000 men, and having stormed the place resolved on its destruction. He made a beginning with a kind of state ceremonial. Carried on a ...