He was born into the French aristocracy and became a tax collector, a profession much hated by the people. He invited greater scorn by collecting money to build a wall around Paris, a wall which would help in collecting more taxes. Parisians felt their movements at night were restricted and hated the man for it.
When the Revolution came, tax collectors were seen as enemies of the people. He was imprisoned and eventually guillotined, conducting himself with remarkable dignity and poise till the very end.
Posterity knows him not for tax collection but for his contributions to science. It is said that when he heard the sentence, he asked for a few weeks time to complete some experiments. The judge replied, 'The revolution does not need scientists'.
A contemporary said in anguish, 'It took them only an instant to cut off that head, but France may not produce another like it in a century.'
Who?
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