The MacMahon family originated in Ireland and later established itself in France, where it gained prominence. In the context of

French nobility The French nobility () was an Aristocracy, aristocratic social class in France from the France in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First French Empire, ...

, the head of the family holds the titles of ''Duc de Magenta'' and ''

Marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

de MacMahon''.

History

John MacMahon (1715–1775), an Irish doctor born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, became naturalised in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1749 and married Charlotte Le Belin, Dame d'Éguilly, on 13 April 1750. That same year, King

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

created him Count d'Equilly. In 1763, John MacMahon further received the title of Marquis d'Éguilly. His son, the 2nd Marquis, served in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, including on the frigate ''Aigle'' which the British captured on 15 September 1782. The senior line of the MacMahon family continued until the death of the 5th Marquis in 1894.

Patrice de MacMahon Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon, duc de Magenta (; 13 June 1808 – 17 October 1893), was a French general and politician who served as President of France from 1873 to 1879. He was elevated to the dignity of Marshal ...

, a grandson of the first Marquis from the MacMahon family's younger line, served with distinction as a general in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

of 1853–56 and later in the

Austro-Sardinian War The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...

of 1859, winning the

Battle of Magenta The Battle of Magenta was fought on 4 June 1859 near the town of Magenta in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a crown land of the Austrian Empire, during the Second Italian War of Independence. It resulted in a French-Sardinian victory under ...

on 4 June 1859. The following day Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

created him Duc de Magenta. Later he became

President of the French Republic The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the pos ...

, serving from 1873 to 1879. At the 1st Duc de Magenta's death in 1893, his titles passed to his eldest son Armand de MacMahon (1855–1927), who in 1894 also succeeded as 6th Marquis d'Eguilly, thus uniting the titles held by the senior and the younger lines of the MacMahon family. The title of ''Marquis d'Eguilly'' was later changed to Marquis de MacMahon. The

family seat A family seat, sometimes just called seat, is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families t ...

of the de MacMahon family was the in

Montcresson Montcresson () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Loiret department The following is the list of the 325 communes of the Loiret department of France. The communes cooperate in the fol ...

in the

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

department of north-central France (where the 1st Duke died) but, after 1894, they inherited the current family seat from the senior line, the

Château de Sully The Château de Sully, situated between Autun and Beaune (Saône-et-Loire), is the largest of the Renaissance châteaux of southern Burgundy. Paired outbuildings of a more vernacular character face each other across a grassed forecourt, while to t ...

in Sully in the Saone-et-Loire department.

Marquises d'Éguilly (1763)

The holders of the title of Marquis d'Éguilly have included: *

Jean Baptiste MacMahon, 1st Marquis d'Éguilly 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 * Jean ...

(1715–1775) * (1752-1830) *

Charles Marie MacMahon, 3rd Marquis d'Éguilly Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

(1793–1845) *

Charles Henri MacMahon, 4th Marquis d'Éguilly Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

(1828–1863) *

Charles Marie MacMahon, 5th Marquis d'Éguilly Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

(1856–1894) m.

Marthe de Vogüé Marthe de Vogüé, Marquise de Mac Mahon (21 November 1860 - 9 June 1923) was a French political activist and monarchist. She was the leader of the ''Dames Royalistes'' from the 1900s until her death and was a prominent figure of the Action Fran� ...

* Marie Armand Patrice MacMahon, 2nd Duc de Magenta, 6th Marquis d'Éguilly (1855–1927); he had previously succeeded as 2nd Duc de Magenta (see below)

Dukes of Magenta (1859)

The holders of the title of Duc de Magenta have included: *

Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, 1st Duc de Magenta Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon, duc de Magenta (; 13 June 1808 – 17 October 1893), was a French general and politician who served as President of France from 1873 to 1879. He was elevated to the dignity of Marshal ...

(1808–1893) * Marie Armand Patrice MacMahon, 2nd Duc de Magenta, 6th Marquis d'Éguilly/de MacMahon (1855-1927) *

Maurice de MacMahon, 3rd Duc de Magenta Maurice may refer to: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean *Maurice, Iowa, a city *Maurice, Louisiana, a village *Maurice River, a trib ...

, 7th Marquis de MacMahon (1903–1954) * Philippe de MacMahon, 4th Duc de Magenta, 8th Marquis de MacMahon (1938–2002) * Maurice de MacMahon, 5th Duc de Magenta, 9th Marquis de MacMahon (born 1992)

Sources

{{Authority control

Magenta Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...