Marquis de Condorcet

Nicolas de Condorcet
Member of the National Convention for Aisne
In office
20 September 1792 – 8 July 1793
Preceded byLouis-Jean-Samuel Joly de Bammeville
Succeeded byVacant (1794–1795)
Successor unknown
ConstituencySaint-Quentin
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Seine
In office
6 September 1791 – 6 September 1792
Succeeded byJoseph François Laignelot
ConstituencyParis
Personal details
Born(1743-09-17)17 September 1743
Ribemont, Picardy, France
Died29 March 1794(1794-03-29) (aged 50)
PartyGirondin
Spouse
(m. 1786)
ChildrenAlexandrine de Caritat de Condorcet
Alma materCollege of Navarre
ProfessionScholar, mathematician, philosopher
Philosophical work
Era18th-century philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolEnlightenment
Classical liberalism
Economic liberalism
Main interestsMathematics, politics
Notable worksGirondin constitutional project, Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind
Notable ideasProgress, Condorcet criterion, Condorcet's jury theorem, Condorcet method, Condorcet's voting paradox

Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis of Condorcet (/kɒndɔːrˈs/; French: [maʁi ʒɑ̃ ɑ̃twan nikɔla kaʁita maʁki kɔ̃dɔʁsɛ]; 17 September 1743 – 29 March 1794), known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher, political economist, politician, and mathematician. His ideas, including support for free markets, public education, constitutional government, and equal rights for women and people of all races, and a welfare state have been said to embody the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment, of which he has been called the "last witness", and Enlightenment rationalism. A critic of the constitution proposed by Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles in 1793, the Convention Nationale – and the Jacobin faction in particular – voted to have Condorcet arrested. He died in prison after a period of hiding from the French Revolutionary authorities.