Database: Estates General Deputees

In March 1789, elections were held to select the 578 deputies of the three Estates. The list of deputies included such men as Robespierre, Mounier, Barnave, Sleyès, and the comte de Mirabeau who, although a noble, chose to sit as a deputy of the Third Estate. Most of the men who comprised the Third Estate were in their late twenties or early thirties. The plain black clothes worn by the deputies of the Third Estate contrasted sharply with the luxurious, brightly-colored garments of the nobles and the clergy.* -- * Also, they were very slimming. --