Marat was the political propagandist most able to rouse popular sentiment between 1789-1793. His paper, The People's Friend (L'Ami du Peuple), allowed him to build a reputation as a champion of the people. Before the Revolution, Marat was a celebrated scholar abroad. However, he had not been received as a serious philosophe in France and he was bitter about this rejection. The Revolution gave him an opportunity to get revenge on those who had denied him prestige. He opposed whomever was in power on the gounds that they had power, and so would eventually become corrupt. He also persuaded members of the governing body of France to arm the people of Paris during the war that began in 1792. These actions earned him the admiration of all the underdogs in Paris.

He had several unexplainable illnesses, including sores and uncontrollable twitching. To ease his pain he took medicinal baths continuously. He was unapolegetic about his condition and wrote and even received visitors while he bathed. On July 13, 1793, Marat was murdered in his home by Charlotte Corday, a country girl who had been brought up in counter-revolutionary circles and wanted to lash out at one of the Revolution's prominent figures. Marat's death elevated him to the status of martyr, and he was laid to rest in a very public spectacle on the 17 of July 1793.