Haitian commander and politician, Governor-General of Haiti (born 1758)

Jean-Jacques Dessalines

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was the first Haitian Emperor, leader of the Haitian Revolution, and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution. Initially regarded as governor-general, Dessalines was later named Emperor of Haiti as Jacques I (1804–1806) by generals of the Haitian Revolutionary army and ruled in that capacity until being assassinated in 1806. He spearheaded the resistance against French rule of Saint-Domingue, and eventually became the architect of the 1804 massacre of the remaining White French residents of newly independent Haiti. Alongside Toussaint Louverture, he has been referred to as one of the fathers of the nation of Haiti.

Born

1758

September 20

Died

1806

Era

1750s

Country

About

Jean-Jacques, in brief

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was the first Haitian Emperor, leader of the Haitian Revolution, and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution. Initially regarded as governor-general, Dessalines was later named Emperor of Haiti as Jacques I (1804–1806) by generals of the Haitian Revolutionary army and ruled in that capacity until being assassinated in 1806. He spearheaded the resistance against French rule of Saint-Domingue, and eventually became the architect of the 1804 massacre of the remaining White French residents of newly independent Haiti. Alongside Toussaint Louverture, he has been referred to as one of the fathers of the nation of Haiti.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

  1. 1758 Born
  2. 1806 Died

Also on September 20

What else happened on this day, through history

See all of September 20 →

Same-day contemporaries

Also born on September 20

See everything on September 20 →

Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1758

Keep going

More to explore