Famous 18th Century Revolutionaries

Haitian general,  Toussaint Louverture, was the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. A revolutionary leader, he was devoted to the cause of Haitian independence and fought hard until he was killed by the French in a treacherous manner. The revolution continued after his death, leading to Haiti’s independence. He is now known as the Father of Haiti.

Tecumseh was a Shawnee chief, diplomat, orator, and warrior. He is best known for promoting resistance to the United States' expansion onto Native American lands. He also promoted tribal unity and is credited with forming a Native American confederacy. He died trying to unite Native Americans and is considered an iconic folk hero in Canadian, Indigenous, and American history.

A significant figure of the American Revolution, Patrick Henry was the first governor of post-colonial Virginia. A skilled orator, he is remembered for his iconic words “Give me liberty or give me death!” He excelled as a lawyer and gained fame with his win in the Parson's Cause.

Georges Danton was a major figure in the early stages of the French Revolution. While many historians state that he played a key role in the establishment of the First French Republic, a few scholars refute this claim. He served as the first president of the Committee of Public Safety and was beheaded by the advocates of revolutionary terror. 

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was an important figure and leader of the Haitian Revolution. He went on to rule an independent Haiti, which became the first country to abolish slavery permanently. Considered one of Haiti's founding fathers, Dessalines reigned as the emperor of Haiti from 1804 until his murder in 1806. Today, he is regarded as an icon of Haitian nationalism.

As a child, Ethan Allen was fond of deciphering passages from the Bible. He grew up to co-establish Vermont and led the Green Mountain Boys during the American Revolutionary War. After failing to achieve Vermont’s separation from New York, he tried to unite Vermont with Canada.

Charlotte Corday was an important figure of the French Revolution. She is remembered for murdering Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat, for which she was executed by guillotine. Her action changed the political position and role of women at the time. She was also considered a hero by those who opposed the teachings of Jean-Paul Marat.

Túpac Amaru II  was the leader of a large Andean uprising against the Spanish in Peru. His wife was also a revolutionary and played a key role in the uprising. They were both captured, tortured, and put to death by the Spaniards. Following his death, he became known as a mythical figure in the Peruvian struggle for independence. 

Sold as a slave in childhood, Denmark Vesey adopted the surname of his master. He later purchased his freedom with the money he had won in a lottery. Earning a living as a carpenter, he simultaneously launched a slave rebellion and planned a coup but was eventually hanged to death.

English-born American political activist, philosopher, and revolutionary, Thomas Paine, is credited to have penned some of the most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution. His works inspired the common people of America and motivated them to fight for independence from British rule. He was ostracized for criticizing Christianity and died a lonely man.

Born to a militia officer, Sybil Ludington later made history with her fearless resistance to the British during the American Revolutionary War. Most of her statues today find her perched on a horse, in a tribute to her night-long horseback ride to inform American soldiers of an impending British attack.

James Wilkinson served the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and also revealed Aaron Burr’s conspiracy to the U.S. government. While he worked against the Spanish people as part of the U.S. army, he was later revealed to be a Spanish spy, also known as Number Thirteen.

Part of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, Benjamin Lincoln had worked on his family farm before joining the army. After he and his 7,000 men surrendered in Charleston, he was freed in a prisoner exchange program and later became the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts.

Hannah Emerson Duston was a Puritan who was taken captive during King William's War by the Abenaki people. She is best remembered for killing and scalping 10 of the Native American family members with the help of two other captives. She later became a folk hero and was honored with a statue.

Polish-American businessman Haym Salomon not only contributed to the establishment of the Philadelphia synagogue Mikveh Israel, but also lent huge amounts of interest-free money to soldiers and other borrowers during the American Revolutionary War. The financier eventually died in poverty, with the American government owing thousands of dollars to him.

One of the rare literate slaves of the colonial era, Gabriel Prosser was born into slavery at a tobacco plantation in Virginia. He led one of the first great slave revolutions of the U.S., aspiring to create an all-Black state, with himself as the king. He was eventually hanged.

Yemelyan Pugachev, a Cossack leader, was a significant figure of the peasant rebellion in Russia. Impersonating Emperor Peter III, who had been deposed by Queen Catherine and killed, Pugachev gathered a group of peasants and besieged several major Russian cities, but was eventually sent to Moscow, where he was executed.

The wife of Jean-Marie Roland, Madame Roland was a leading French revolutionary and often hosted significant political meets at her salon. She often directed her husband’s political actions and was responsible for creating a rift between the Jacobin and Girondin factions. She was later arrested and guillotined.

Mary Ludwig Hays, an American brave heart who is considered to have fought at the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778 during the American War of Independence, is mostly identified as the woman behind the legend of Molly Pitcher. She reportedly took her husband's place working a gun after he was wounded and brought water to troops at the battle  

Jacques Pierre Brissot was a French journalist and publisher. He was one of the most important members of the Girondins, who played a prominent role during the French Revolution. Brissot is also credited with founding the Society of the Friends of the Blacks, an abolitionist society, which aimed at abolishing the institution of slavery.

Physician, clergyman, and statesman Lyman Hall was one of the three delegates of the Congress from Georgia and one of four doctors to sign the United States Declaration of Independence. He also served as Governor of Georgia for a year and co-founded the University of Georgia before resuming his medical practice. Hall County in north central Georgia is named after him.

French revolutionary Jean-Baptiste Carrier is remembered for his radicalism, his actions during the the War in the Vendée, and his notorious atrocities against counter-revolutionaries, such as the murder of thousands of people at Nantes. He was eventually found guilty of mass murder by the Revolutionary Tribunal and guillotined.

Bakht Khan is best remembered for his service as the commander-in-chief of the 1857 Indian Rebellion against the British. Initially part of the East India Company army, he served the Bengal horse artillery and gained 40 years of military experience. He eventually died fighting at the age of around 61.

Henri Grégoire, or Abbé Grégoire, was not just a Catholic priest but also a revolutionary. He first gained prominence with his Essay on the Regeneration of the Jews. A radical Jacobin, he was the first priest of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and also presided over the National Convention.

Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois was a French actor, essayist, dramatist, and revolutionary. He played an important role during the Reign of Terror, serving as one of the most important members of the Committee of Public Safety. Although he is credited with saving Madame Tussaud from the Guillotine, Collot d'Herbois oversaw the execution of over 2,000 people in Lyon.

American politician and slaveholder Abraham Clark, a Revolutionary War figure who earned the reputation as "the poor man's councilor," signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a delegate for New Jersey to the Continental Congress. He later served as Member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey's At-large district in both the Second and Third United States Congress.

Jean-Lambert Tallien was a French politician who played an important role during the French Revolution. Although he initially supported the Reign of Terror, Tallien became known as an influential leader of the Thermidorian Reaction that led to the downfall of the Reign of Terror's leader Maximilien Robespierre, which eventually resulted in the end of the Terror. 

Betty Zane is remembered as the heroine of the second siege of Fort Henry that took place in September 1782, during the American Revolutionary War. She volunteered and thrived in carrying gunpowder from her brother’s home to the fort when the garrison was running low on ammunition, thus allowing them to continue to fight and hold the fort.

François Hanriot was a Sans-culotte leader and street orator. He played an important role during the French Revolution, commanding the National Guard. He played a crucial role in the insurrection of May 31 to 2 June 1793 which resulted in the fall of the Girondins. François Hanriot’s arrest and execution went a long way in ending the Reign of Terror.