On July 27, 1768, in the region of Normandy that is now referred to as Orne, Charlotte Corday was born. Corday was a 5th generation matrilinear descendant of Pierre Corneille, who is typically considered the first great seventeenth-century French dramatist. Charlotte Corday was born into this aristocratic family as Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d’Armont: Keeping wealth and power in the family was important, as such, her parents were cousins.

While still a young girl, Charlotte Corday’s mother and older sister passed away. Her father’s inability to cope with the death of his wife and daughter, led to his sending Corday, and her little sister, to live in a convent in Caen. read more