- Arnail François, marquis de Jaucourt
Arnail François,
marquis de Jaucourt, "comte de l'Empire" (November 14 ,1757 –February 5 ,1852 ) was a French aristocrat and politician.Biography
Military career and Revolution
Jaucourt was born in
Tournon (Seine-et-Marne ) of a Protestant family, protected byLouis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé , whoseDragoon regiment he entered at the age of fifteen. He becamecolonel of his regiment, and made himself known for his welcoming of theFrench Revolution and his affiliation with theFeuillant s.A deputy to the Legislative Assembly in 1791, elected by the "départment" of Seine-et-Marne, he generally voted with the minority. As his views came to be considered too moderate by his colleagues, he resigned in 1792, and was soon after arrested on suspicion of being a
reactionary . Madame de Staël obtained his release fromLouis Pierre Manuel just before theSeptember Massacres . He subsequently accompaniedCharles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord on his mission to theKingdom of Great Britain , returning to France after the execution of King Louis XVI.Consulate and First Empire
He took refuge in
Switzerland to escape theReign of Terror , and returned only after Napoleon Bonaparte's 18 Brumaire coup and the establishment of theFrench Consulate , entering thetribunate , of which he was the president for a short period.In 1803, Jaucourt entered the French Senate, and next year, upon the establishment of the First Empire, he became attached to the household of
Joseph Bonaparte . He accompanied Joseph to theKingdom of Naples , and was created acount of the Empire by Napoleon.Restoration, July Monarchy, and later years
During the following years, Jaucourt distanced himself from the imperial cause, and, with the
Bourbon Restoration he becameMinister of State and a Peer of France. After the outcome of theHundred Days (during which he stood by Louis XVIII), he was Naval Minister in July-September 1815, but held no further office. He devoted himself to the support of the Protestant interest in France, and tried to reduce the effects of theWhite Terror .A member of the upper house after the
July Revolution and throughout the reign of Louis Philippe (the "July Monarchy "), he was driven into private life by the establishment of the Second Republic, but lived to see the 1851 coup and to rally to the government of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, dying inParis the next year.References
*1911
External links
* [http://www.museeprotestant.org/Pages/Notices.php?noticeid=453&scatid=71&lev=1 Bio and portrait at the "Musée Virtuel du Protestantisme Français"]
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