Chénier, Marie Joseph Blaise de (1764–1811)

French dramatist and poet, the younger brother of André de Chénier. His tragedies include Charles IX (1790), Henry VIII (1791), Jean Calas (1791), and Timoléon (1794). He wrote the words of the national song ‘Le Chant du départ’ (1794).

In the French Revolution, Chénier was a Jacobin, and served in the legislative assembly for a period of 30 years. He was a keen politician with democratic principles, and this accounts largely for the popularity of his tragedies. He became a member of the National Convention, and was on the Council of 500.