Born in Montauban on May 7, 1748, Marie Gouze, known as Olympe de Gouges, ascended the scaffold on November 3, 1793. She is said to be the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis de Pompignan.
She became famous thanks to her writings, in particular those in which she defended oppressed minorities:women, slaves, blacks. She sets up a traveling theater group. She supports abolitionists with Zamore and Mirza , performed at the Comédie-Française in 1785, as well as with his Réflexions sur les hommes nègres published in 1788. It defends the idea of a patriotic tax and, on the eve of the Revolution, proposes radical reforms.
She is committed to divorce, the recognition of natural children, the creation of maternities and reception centers for the destitute. Involved with the Girondins, a convinced republican, she offered her services to defend Louis XVI at the time of his trial. His proposal is not accepted.
She affirms that a woman must be able to participate equally with men in political and social debates. Her Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizens (1791), modeled on the Declaration of the Rights of Man of 1789, and dedicated to Marie-Antoinette, demanded the extension to women of the rights recognized to the so-called “stronger” sex. The text was refused by the Convention, but its historical importance is recognized today.