Jean-Louis-Paul-François de Noailles, 5th Duke of Noailles (26 October 1739, Paris20 October 1824) was a French nobleman and scientist.

Early life

Jean-Louis-Paul-François de Noailles was the son of Cathérine Françoise Charlotte de Cossé-Brissac and Louis, 4th duc de Noailles, a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

in 1775. His father was a nephew of

Marie Victoire de Noailles ''Marie Victoire'' Sophie de Noailles, Countess of Toulouse (Versailles, 6 May 1688 – Paris, 30 September 1766), was a French noble and courtier. Her second spouse was Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse, the youngest legitimized ...

, daughter-in-law of

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

, and his paternal grandmother,

Françoise Charlotte d'Aubigné Françoise Charlotte Amable d'Aubigné, Duchess of Noailles (5 May 1684 – 6 October 1739) was a French aristocrat, the wife of Adrien Maurice de Noailles, 3rd Duke of Noailles. She was the niece of Françoise d'Aubigné, Madame de Maintenon, an ...

, was a niece of

Madame de Maintenon Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

. He was in the army for a period. However, his eminence as a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

gained him the election as a member of the

Académie des sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at ...

in 1777. He was also a Knight of

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where ...

. He became Duc d'Ayen in 1766 on his grandfather's death, and

Duc de Noailles The title of Duke of Noailles was a French peerage created in 1663 for Anne de Noailles, Count of Ayen. History Noailles is the name of a prominent French noble family, derived from the castle of Noailles in the territory of Ayen, between Brive ...

on his father's in 1793. Having emigrated in 1792, he lived in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

until the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Abs ...

in 1814, when he took his seat as a

Peer of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

French Revolution

As a member of the royal military the Duke was away from his estates during much of the

French revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

and was not present for the death of his father, upon which he became the

. His absence spared him being arrested along with most of his relatives on orders of

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

in May 1794. On 22 July that year, his 70-year-old mother (the dowager Duchess Françoise de Noailles), his wife (the Duchess Anne-Louise-Henriette), their eldest daughter Louise (the Vicomte de Noaille, by virtue of marriage to her cousin Marc Antoine de Noaille), and their second daughter, Adrienne de La Fayette, were condemned to the

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

. All were executed except for Adrienne, who was spared at the last moment due to intervention by the future American president,

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

(the then U.S. Minister to France), because of her husband's efforts for America during the

American War for Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

) but only after her paternal grandmother, mother, and sister were beheaded within her sight. a new biography. The Duke learned of their deaths weeks later. His family had lost many other members including two of his uncles (including

Philippe de Noailles, duc de Mouchy Philippe de Noailles, comte de Noailles and later prince de Poix, duc de Mouchy, and duc de Poix ''à brevêt'' (27 December 1715 in Paris27 June 1794 in Paris), was a younger brother of Louis de Noailles, and a more distinguished soldier than his ...

) and numerous cousins and in-laws during the Revolution. The Duke went into self-imposed

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

in Switzerland until the Bourbon Restoration, returning to France and his ravaged estates after

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

and the Directory restored some order. Through the efforts of his daughter Adrienne de La Fayette, whose husband's family also suffered greatly in the Revolution, some part of his once immense fortune was restored.

Personal life

On 25 February 1755, he was married to heiress

Henriette-Anne-Louise d'Aguesseau Henriette Anne Louise d'Aguesseau, Duchess of Noailles, Princess of Tingry (12 February 1737 – 22 July 1794), was a French salon hostess and duchess, the heiress of her grandfather, Henri François d'Aguesseau, and wife of Jean Louis Fra ...

, the daughter of Jean Baptiste Paulin d'Aguesseau de Fresne, Count of Compans and of Maligny, and Anne Louise Françoise du Pré, Dame of la Grange-Bleneau. It was an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

, worked out by Adrien-Maurice, 3rd duc de Noailles, as Henriette was heiress to the fortune of her paternal grandfather,

Henri François d'Aguesseau Henri François d'Aguesseau (; 27 November 16685 February 1751) was Chancellor of France three times between 1717 and 1750 and pronounced by Voltaire to be "the most learned magistrate France ever possessed". Early life He was born in Limoges, ...

, a three-time

Chancellor of France In France, under the ''Ancien Régime'', the officer of state responsible for the judiciary was the Chancellor of Francesometimes called Grand Chancellor or Lord Chancellor (french: Chancelier de France). The Chancellor was responsible for seei ...

. Jean and Henriette lived at the family residence in Paris, the Hôtel de Noailles on Rue Saint-Honoré, and were the parents of eight children: * Adrien Paul Louis de Noailles (1756–1757), who died in infancy. * Anne Jeanne Baptiste Louise de Noailles (1758–1794), who married her cousin the Louis-Marie, the Vicomte de Noailles. * Marie-Adrienne-Françoise de Noailles (Nov. 2,1759–1807), who married

Gilbert Du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...

. * A daughter (born and died 11 December 1760), who died upon birth. * Françoise Antoinette Louise de Noailles (1763–1788), who became the Comtesse de Thezan du Pourjol. * Anne Paule Dominique de Noailles (June 22, 1766–1839), who became the Marquise de Pouzols, Marquise de Montagu. * Angélique Françoise d'Assise Rosalie de Noailles (1767–1833), who became the Marquise de Grammont. * Louis Gabriel de Noailles (1768–1770), who died in infancy. Although the Duke remarried in 1796 to the Baroness Wilhelmine Justine of Mosheim (

Yury Golovkin Count Yurii Alexandrovich Golovkin (russian: Юрий Александрович Головкин, links=no) (1762–1846) was a Russian diplomat who served as Russian Minister (ambassador) in Stuttgart (1813–18) and in Vienna (1818–1822), but ...

's mother), he had no further children and was survived by only two of his eight children. Having no surviving sons and having survived his nephews, he was succeeded as duc de Noailles by his then 22 year old grandnephew, Paul de Noailles.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noailles, Jean Louis Paul Francois De 1739 births 1824 deaths Scientists from Paris Members of the French Academy of Sciences 18th-century French scientists Counts of Ayen Dukes of Noailles

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration French Army officers N