Louis Antoine de Bougainville

12 November 1729 – 31 August 1811

Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811) was a French admiral and explorer who led the first official French circumnavigation of the globe from 1766 to 1769. A veteran of the Seven Years' War in Canada, he later published a celebrated account of his voyage that helped popularize the idea of Tahiti as an island paradise. The flowering plant bougainvillea, discovered on his expedition, is named after him.

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Life events

Born in Paris, France
12 November 1729

Louis Antoine de Bougainville was born in Paris, the son of a notary.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published a treatise on integral calculus
1754

Before his military career, Bougainville studied mathematics and published a treatise on integral calculus that earned him election to the Royal Society of London in 1756.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Served as aide-de-camp to Montcalm in New France during the Seven Years' War
1756 – 1760

Bougainville served in Canada under the Marquis de Montcalm, taking part in the defense of New France against the British.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Founded a French settlement in the Falkland Islands
1764

Bougainville established the colony of Port Saint Louis on the Falkland Islands (Îles Malouines), which France later ceded to Spain.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Led the first official French circumnavigation of the globe
November 1766 – 16 March 1769

Commanding the frigate La Boudeuse and the storeship Étoile, Bougainville sailed around the world, visiting Tahiti, the Pacific islands and the Dutch East Indies before returning to Saint-Malo in 1769.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published Voyage autour du monde
1771

His account of the expedition became widely read in Europe and helped shape the romantic image of Tahiti and the South Pacific.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Served in the French navy during the American Revolutionary War
1779 – 1782

Bougainville commanded ships of the line in the fleet supporting the American colonies, including at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Made a senator and Count of the Empire under Napoleon
1799 – 1808

In his later years Bougainville was honored by Napoleon Bonaparte, becoming a senator in 1799 and a Count of the Empire in 1808.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Paris
31 August 1811

Bougainville died in Paris at the age of 81 and was interred in the Panthéon.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓