French Revolution

6 Stories

The French Flag Changed Last Year. No One Said Anything

Macron started putting up flags at the presidential palace with a darker shade of blue

(Newser) - For more than 40 years, the tricolor French flag has sported a bright shade of blue to match that found on Europe's flag . If you've been wondering over the past year, however, why that blue seems darker of late, you don't need an eye exam—you've...

Science Solves Mystery in Marie Antoinette Love Letter

Imaging technology reveals words the recipient scribbled over

(Newser) - “Not without you.” “My dear friend.” “You that I love." Marie Antoinette sent these expressions of affection—or more?—in letters to her close friend and rumored lover Axel von Fersen. Someone later used dark ink to scribble over the words, apparently to dampen...

In Walls of Chapel, a Chilling Find on French Revolution
Archaeologist Makes Chilling
Find in Walls of French Chapel
in case you missed it
Jul 4, 2020 7:00 AM CDT

Archaeologist Makes Chilling Find in Walls of French Chapel

Guillotine victims apparently buried there, not in the catacombs as believed

(Newser) - The administrator of a historic chapel in France noticed the walls were looking odd in places, and he called in an archaeologist to take a professional look. The reason for the anomalies is a dark one, dating back to the French Revolution: It appears that up to 500 victims of...

Revolutionary Robespierre Gets a Modern Diagnosis

Doctors think he suffered from auto-immune disorder sarcoidosis

(Newser) - The guillotine ended the life of French revolutionary Maximilien de Robespierre in 1794, but the 36-year-old might not have been long for this earth anyhow, a new study suggests. Doctors think he suffered from an auto-immune disorder called sarcoidosis in which the body attacks its own tissues and organs, reports...

Murdered French King Getting Head Back

Henri IV's head was stolen by revolutionaries in 1793

(Newser) - Beloved French monarch Henri IV is going to be reunited with his head after more than 200 years. The king, assassinated by a Catholic fundamentalist in 1610, had his head removed from his body by revolutionaries ransacking a royal chapel in 1793. A head presumed to be Henri's was passed...

10 Protests That Changed History

Iran's post-election storm has these precedents

(Newser) - The post-election storm brewing in Iran prompted LiveScience to round up some of history's most significant protests:
  • A piece of paper nailed to a church door in 1517 sparked the Protestant Revolution.
  • Parisians moved more boldly, beheading the Bastille's governor to spark the French Revolution in 1789.
  • The Boston Tea
...

6 Stories