1-156-685 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Storming of the Bastille, French Revolution, Paris, 1789. On the morning of 14 July 1789, a crowd advanced on the Bastille, the state prison in Paris. Their intention was to ask the governor to release the prisoners (there were only seven) and weapons in the building. The governor was evasive and the people stormed the fortress in what became the most celebrated episode of the French Revolution.