Michel-Louis-Étienne Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély
Encyclopedia
Michel Louis Étienne Regnaud, later 1st Count Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély (3 December 1761, Saint-Fargeau
– 11 March 1819, Paris
) was a French
politician.
in Paris
and lieutenant
of the maritime provostship
of Rochefort
. With the outbreak of the French Revolution
in 1789, he was elected deputy to the Estates-General
by the Third Estate
in the sénéchaussée
of Saint-Jean-d'Angély
.
His eloquence made him a prominent figure in the National Constituent Assembly
, where he boldly attacked Honoré Mirabeau, and settled the dispute about the ashes of Voltaire
by decreeing that they belonged to the nation.
's flight to Varennes
, by his refusal to accede to the demands for the king's execution, and by the articles he published in the Journal de Paris and the Ami des Patriotes, marked him out for the hostility of the radical parties.
He was arrested after the 10 August Insurrection
, but succeeded in escaping, and during the Thermidorian Reaction
which followed the fall of Maximilien Robespierre
, Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély was appointed administrator of the military hospitals in Paris. His powers of organization brought him to Napoleon Bonaparte
's notice, and he took, part in the 18 Brumaire Coup
(9 November 1799).
, he enjoyed the confidence of Bonaparte, and was made councillor of state, president of election in the Conseil d'État, member of the Académie française
, procureur général of the high court
, and was created Count Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély in 1808.
He was dismissed on the first Bourbon Restoration
, but resumed his posts during the Hundred Days
, and, after the battle of Waterloo
, persuaded the Emperor to abdicate
. He was exiled by the government of the Second Restoration, but subsequently obtained leave to return to France. He died on the day of his return to Paris. His supposed memoir
s, Les Souvenirs du Comte Regnault de St Jean d'Angély (Paris, 1817), are spurious.
became Marshal of France
.
Saint-Fargeau
Saint-Fargeau is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.-Personalities:*In the early years of the reign of Louis XIV, the château was the home to his exiled cousin, the wealthy Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans. She lived in the château of the town, giving the building its...
– 11 March 1819, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
politician.
Early activities
He was a lawyerLawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
of the maritime provostship
Provost (civil)
A provost is the ceremonial head of many Scottish local authorities, and under the name prévôt was a governmental position of varying importance in Ancien Regime France.-History:...
of Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
. With 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...
in 1789, he was elected deputy to the Estates-General
Estates-General of 1789
The Estates-General of 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the nobility, the Church, and the common people...
by the Third Estate
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...
in the sénéchaussée
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
of Saint-Jean-d'Angély
Saint-Jean-d'Angély
Saint-Jean-d'Angély is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France.The commune has its historical origins in the Abbey of Saint-Jean-d'Angély.-Royal abbey:...
.
His eloquence made him a prominent figure in the National Constituent Assembly
National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
, where he boldly attacked Honoré Mirabeau, and settled the dispute about the ashes of Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
by decreeing that they belonged to the nation.
Conflict with radicals
The moderation shown by the measures he proposed at the time of King Louis XVILouis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
's flight to Varennes
Flight to Varennes
The Flight to Varennes was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which King Louis XVI of France, his wife Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution...
, by his refusal to accede to the demands for the king's execution, and by the articles he published in the Journal de Paris and the Ami des Patriotes, marked him out for the hostility of the radical parties.
He was arrested after the 10 August Insurrection
10th of August (French Revolution)
On 10 August 1792, during the French Revolution, revolutionary Fédéré militias — with the backing of a new municipal government of Paris that came to be known as the "insurrectionary" Paris Commune and ultimately supported by the National Guard — besieged the Tuileries palace. King Louis XVI and...
, but succeeded in escaping, and during the Thermidorian Reaction
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Saint-Just de Richebourg and several other leading members of the Terror...
which followed the fall of Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
, Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély was appointed administrator of the military hospitals in Paris. His powers of organization brought him to Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
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...
's notice, and he took, part in the 18 Brumaire Coup
18 Brumaire
The coup of 18 Brumaire was the coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate...
(9 November 1799).
Empire and later life
Under the EmpireFirst French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, he enjoyed the confidence of Bonaparte, and was made councillor of state, president of election in the Conseil d'État, member of the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
, procureur général of the high court
Court of Cassation (France)
The French Supreme Court of Judicature is France's court of last resort having jurisdiction over all matters triable in the judicial stream but only scope of review to determine a miscarriage of justice or certify a question of law based solely on points of law...
, and was created Count Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély in 1808.
He was dismissed on the first 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...
, but resumed his posts during the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, and, after the battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, persuaded the Emperor to abdicate
Abdication
Abdication occurs when a monarch, such as a king or emperor, renounces his office.-Terminology:The word abdication comes derives from the Latin abdicatio. meaning to disown or renounce...
. He was exiled by the government of the Second Restoration, but subsequently obtained leave to return to France. He died on the day of his return to Paris. His supposed memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
s, Les Souvenirs du Comte Regnault de St Jean d'Angély (Paris, 1817), are spurious.
Posterity
Regnaud had married in 1795 Laure Guesnon de Bonneuil, the daughter of a former Maître d'Hôtel of the Count of Artois. He had no posterity from her, but his natural son Auguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'AngélyAuguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély
Auguste Michel Étienne Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély, later 2nd Count Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély was a Marshal of France, soldier and politician....
became Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
.