 Ordered as part of the second tranche of the 1900 naval law that authorized a total of 19 battleships by 1919, "Mirabeau" was named after Honoré Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, an early leader of the French Revolution.Construction of the ship began on 8 May 1906 at the Arsenal de Lorient and she was laid down on 4 May 1908.