Gilbert Romme was born in Riom (63), in Auvergne, March 26, 1750, and died in Paris on Prairial 29, year III (June 17, 1795).

He was educated at Oratorians, in Riom, where he received a solid education in sciences and mathematics. To the end of his studies, he went to Paris where he stayed for 5 years and took part in the philosophical, scientific and political life.He leaved then for Russia where he became the tutor of Paul Stroganoff, son of the count A.S. Stroganoff. He came back to France in 1788, and entered definitively in the political life.

Elected since 1791 in the Legislative Assembly, he was first partisan of the Gironde party, took part with Condorcet in the Public Instruction Committee. But he chose to join the Mountain party at the time of his election to the Convention, where he took also part in the Public Instruction Committee.
Under an appearance of simplicity and softness, he was an enthusiastic follower of "the Lights" and hated the Church. Intransigent for himself, he was so to the others, and of a total probity.

At the time of the King's trial, he voted for the death. On April 30, 1793, he went on mission with the army of the Cherbourg Coasts. He was arrested on June 9 in Caen by the Gironde party followers who were then outlawed by the Convention. Romme spent a time in prison with his colleague Prieur de la Marne. He was finally released on July 29 after the failure of the Gironde in Normandy.

He worked already at that time on the republican calendar project. On september 17, he submitted his report to the Public Instruction Committee and the project was accepted. The Convention adopted the new Calendar on October 5 and chose on Brumaire 3, year II (October 24, 1793) the nomenclature suggested by the poet Fabre d'Eglantine.

On Ventôse 5 of the same year (February 23, 1794), he went on mission in South-West to organize the guns production for the navy. During this time took place in Paris the Thermidor events, on 9 and 10 (July 27-28, 1794), which caused the fall of Robespierre and his allies. Gilbert Romme came back to Paris on Vendémiaire 5, year III (September 26, 1794), but didn't abjure the ideals of the Mountain party. He came back to the Convention, taking place with the people of the Peak Party, about thirty deputies.
The fight kept on during seven months, and during this time, the Peak was more and more isolated...

On the next Prairial, 1st (May 20, 1795), an uprising took place against the new government, demanding "bread and the 1793 Constitution". The demonstrators invaded the Convention, killed the deputy Féraud who tried to resist them. Romme and several of his friends supported the riot and impulsed the vote of the pleas required by the crowd. A few hours later, the rioters were dislodged by troops which waited outside. Romme and his friends were arrested and the Convention created a special military commission to quickly judge the supposed insurrection chiefs, the hidden goal being the final destruction of the Mountain party.

The 4, the crowd massed near Saint-Antoine suburb capitulated. The repression started at once. Nearly 10.000 sans-culottes were arrested.

The commission pronounced 36 death sentences: murderers of Féraud, those of gendarmes who had made a pact with the insurrectionists and finally six deputies: Gilbert Romme, Duquesnoy, Goujon, Soubrany, Bourbotte and Dubois. Instead of accept their execution, these representatives of the people chose to commit suicide in cell, thanks to a knife hidden by Goujon. Only Romme, Duquesnoy and Goujon died immediately, on Prairial 3, year III; Soubrany died in the chariot which bringed him to the scaffold. Bourbotte and Dubois were decapitated. Romme died pronouncing the words" I die for the Republic... "