Marquis de Lafayette

6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought for the United States in the American Revolutionary War, serving as a major general under George Washington. Returning to France, he became a key figure in the early French Revolution, commanding the National Guard and helping draft the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. He remained a symbol of liberty on both sides of the Atlantic until his death in 1834.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Marquis de Lafayette.

Life events

Born at the Château de Chavaniac in Auvergne, France
6 September 1757

He was born into an ancient noble family in south-central France and inherited a vast fortune after being orphaned young.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Married Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles
11 April 1774

At sixteen he married into the powerful Noailles family, one of the most influential aristocratic houses in France.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Sailed to America to join the Revolutionary cause
20 April 1777

Defying royal orders, he purchased a ship and sailed to America to volunteer in the Continental Army.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Commissioned major general in the Continental Army
31 July 1777

Congress commissioned the nineteen-year-old as a major general, and he soon formed a close bond with George Washington.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Wounded at the Battle of Brandywine
11 September 1777

He was shot in the leg during the battle but remained on the field to organize a retreat, winning widespread admiration.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Played a key role in the decisive Siege of Yorktown
28 September 1781 – 19 October 1781

His Virginia command helped trap Cornwallis's army at Yorktown, leading to the British surrender that effectively ended the war.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Appointed commander of the Paris National Guard and helped draft the Declaration of the Rights of Man
15 July 1789

Days after the storming of the Bastille he took command of the National Guard, and with Jefferson's advice he drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Imprisoned by Austrian and Prussian forces after fleeing radicalized France
August 1792 – September 1797

Declared a traitor by the Jacobins, he fled France and spent more than five years in Austrian and Prussian prisons, chiefly at Olmütz.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Made a triumphal grand tour of the United States
15 August 1824 – 9 September 1825

As the 'Nation's Guest' he visited all twenty-four states, greeted by enormous crowds celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Revolution.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Paris
20 May 1834

He died at age seventy-six and was buried at Picpus Cemetery in Paris under soil taken from Bunker Hill.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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