Anacharsis Cloots
A radical visionary who renounced his Prussian title to become the self-proclaimed 'orator of the human race' during the French Revolution.
1755–1794 (age 39)·Prussian nobleman·Birthday: June 24
Biography
Anacharsis Cloots was the French Revolution's most flamboyant cosmopolitan. A wealthy Prussian baron, he arrived in Paris in 1789, intoxicated by the ideals of liberty and fraternity. He dramatically shed his nobility, donated his fortune to the republic, and reinvented himself as a citizen of the world. Cloots argued passionately for a universal republic, envisioning a world parliament that would transcend national borders—a radical notion of global governance centuries ahead of its time. He famously staged a 'Festival of Reason' and led a delegation of foreigners before the National Assembly to demonstrate global solidarity. His fervent atheism and internationalism, however, eventually made him a target. As the Revolution turned inward during the Terror, his views were deemed dangerously extreme. Branded an enemy by Robespierre, who saw his universalism as a threat to the new French nation, Cloots was guillotined in 1794, a martyr for a borderless world that never came to be.
#1 When Anacharsis Was Born
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Anacharsis's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1755Born
1760Started school
1768Became a teenager
1771Could drive
1773Could vote
1776Turned 21
1785Turned 30
1794Died at 39
Key Achievements
- Was elected to the French National Convention in 1792, representing the Oise department.
- Authored numerous pamphlets advocating for a universal republic and a world parliament.
- Organized the 'Deputation of the Human Race' to the National Assembly in 1790.
Did You Know?
He chose his first name, Anacharsis, after a Scythian philosopher who traveled to ancient Athens.
He was the first foreigner to be granted honorary French citizenship by the Revolutionary government.
He owned what was considered one of the finest private libraries in Paris before the Revolution.
“I am neither of Flanders nor of France, but of the human race.”
