Francois Noel Babeuf
Babeuf, Francois Noël (1760–1797), a French revolutionary and social philosopher. His radical doctrines, known as Babouvism, influenced the development of communism. In 1794 Babeuf took the first name Gracchus, after a Roman social reformer, and began to publish his proposals for a communistic society that would outlaw private property and guarantee a livelihood to all. He urged revolution to achieve that society. In 1796 Babeuf and his followers plotted to overthrow the French Directory. Their plan, known as the Conspiracy of Equals, was betrayed to the government, however, and Babeuf was guillotined in 1797.