Claude de Beauharnais (1756-1819)
Encyclopedia
Claude de Beauharnais was a French politician.
. His mother held a famous salon
in Paris.
He married twice. The first time was in 1783 to Claudine Françoise Adrienne Gabrielle de Lézay-Marnézia, by whom he had one son, Albéric Jules Albert de Beauharnais (23.08.1787–1791), who died in infancy, and one daughter, Stéphanie de Beauharnais
(born 28 August 1789–1859), who became the adoptive daughter of Napoleon I
, married Karl, Grand Duke of Baden
, and died as dowager grand-duchess. He remarried in 1799 to Sophie Fortin Duplessis, and they had only one child, Josephine de Beauharnais (11 December 1803 – 14 November 1871).
at the outbreak of the French Revolution
.
on 1 floréal year XII. He was made a member of the Légion d'honneur
on the following 25 prairial.
Napoleon I granted him the sénatorerie
of Amiens on 16 March 1806. He was made comte de l'Empire on 6 June 1808.
In 1810, he became a member of the conseil d'administration of the Sénat conservateur, a chevalier d'honneur of empress Marie-Louise
and grand cross of the ordre de la Fidélité (on 24 February). On 30 June 1811 he became a grand-officer of the Légion d'honneur.
On the Bourbon Restoration
, Louis XVIII added to the honours Claude had received under Napoleon, including Pair de France on 4 June 1814. In the trial of Marshal Ney, Claude voted for his death.
Family
He was the son of Claude de Beauharnais (1717–1784), comte of Les Roches-Baritaud (uncle of Alexandre de Beauharnais and of François de Beauharnais) and his wife FannyFanny de Beauharnais
Fanny de Beauharnais, née Marie-Anne-Françoise Mouchard, was a French lady of letters. She was the mother of French politician Claude de Beauharnais...
. His mother held a famous salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
in Paris.
He married twice. The first time was in 1783 to Claudine Françoise Adrienne Gabrielle de Lézay-Marnézia, by whom he had one son, Albéric Jules Albert de Beauharnais (23.08.1787–1791), who died in infancy, and one daughter, Stéphanie de Beauharnais
Stéphanie de Beauharnais
Stéphanie, Grand Duchess of Baden was the consort of Karl, Grand Duke of Baden.-Biography:...
(born 28 August 1789–1859), who became the adoptive daughter of Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, married Karl, Grand Duke of Baden
Karl, Grand Duke of Baden
Charles, Grand Duke of Baden became ruler of Baden on June 11, 1811 and ruled until his death. He was born in Karlsruhe....
, and died as dowager grand-duchess. He remarried in 1799 to Sophie Fortin Duplessis, and they had only one child, Josephine de Beauharnais (11 December 1803 – 14 November 1871).
Military career
He joined the army early and was a captain in the régiment des gardes françaisesGardes Françaises
The Gardes Françaises was one of the two non-ceremonial infantry regiments in the "Maison du Roi" of the French Army under the Ancien Régime. The other regiment was the Gardes Suisses, which made the Gardes Françaises the only one recruited from France.-History:The regiment was created in 1563 by...
at the outbreak of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
Political career
On 5 pluviôse year XII he was made president of the electoral college of the Vendée département, also becoming a Sénat conservateurSénat conservateur
The Sénat conservateur was a body set up in France during the Consulate by the Constitution of the Year VIII. With the Tribunat and the Corps législatif, it formed one of the three legislative assemblies of the Consulate...
on 1 floréal year XII. He was made a member of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
on the following 25 prairial.
Napoleon I granted him the sénatorerie
Sénatorerie
The sénatoreries were the great properties distributed by Napoléon Bonaparte to senators in an implicit exchange for their docility towards his regime, as it became less and less democratic, starting on 4 January 1803...
of Amiens on 16 March 1806. He was made comte de l'Empire on 6 June 1808.
In 1810, he became a member of the conseil d'administration of the Sénat conservateur, a chevalier d'honneur of empress Marie-Louise
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
Marie Louise of Austria was the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and later Duchess of Parma...
and grand cross of the ordre de la Fidélité (on 24 February). On 30 June 1811 he became a grand-officer of the Légion d'honneur.
On the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
, Louis XVIII added to the honours Claude had received under Napoleon, including Pair de France on 4 June 1814. In the trial of Marshal Ney, Claude voted for his death.
Source
- Dictionnaire Bouillet
- "Claude de Beauharnais", in Adolphe Robert, Edgar Bourloton and Gaston Cougny, Dictionnaire des parlementaires français (1789–1891), XIXe siècle
- Genealogy of the Beauharnais dynasty