Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine took part not only in the American Revolution, but also in the French. He was made a French citizen, took an active part in the French revolution, and was elected to the National Assembly.

He lived at 10, rue de l’Odeon.

He was elected to the National Assembly, but ran afoul of it when he vote not to execute Louis XVI.

He was imprisoned in the Luxembourg Palace. There is a story that he was to be executed while here, but avoided it, basically, out of luck. It seems that the system was that a guard would mark the cell doors of those who were to be executed next. But when his turn came, he was sick, and was allowed to have his cell door open. When the guard came, then, he marked the door, but when it was later closed, the mark was on the inside of the cell, and so it wasn’t seen, and Paine was spared.