Madame Roland (1754–1793)

Manon Roland, best known simply as Madame Roland, was born Marie-Jeanne Phlipon, the only daughter of a Parisian master engraver. A voracious reader from childhood, she educated herself in history, philosophy, poetry, and mathematics. In 1780, at age 26, she married Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière, an intellectual inspector of manufactures 20 years her senior. Fired with the ideals of Plutarch, Rousseau, and other philosophers, during the French Revolution Madame Roland wrote erudite articles for the political review Le Patriote français, and hosted a revolutionary salon. She and her husband were influential members of the Girondist faction. They fell out of favor during the Reign of Terror, and she was executed on the guillotine. Famous for her final words, "O Liberté, que de crimes on commet en ton nom!" (Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!)