On what date was the Committee of Public Safety created?

The Committee of Public Safety was created on 6 April 1793 by France’s National Convention.

It was established during a period of military crisis and internal revolt, when France was fighting the First Coalition and facing the Vendée uprising. The committee replaced the less powerful Committee of General Defence and was initially intended to coordinate the republic’s war effort and national security.

Its authority expanded dramatically later in 1793. The Convention gave it broad control over the army, ministers, administration, and revolutionary justice. Maximilien Robespierre joined in July 1793, but he was only one member of a collective body rather than its formal dictator. The committee became closely associated with the Reign of Terror.

A common mix-up is confusing its creation with the date when it gained much greater power. The committee was formed in April, reorganized in July, and received formal executive authority in December 1793. It was abolished in October 1795, when the National Convention gave way to the Directory.