Édouard Jean Joseph de Laborde de Marchainville (26 June 1762,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

– 13 July 1786,

Baie des Français Lituya Bay (; Tlingit: ''Ltu.aa'',. Spelled L'tua in translation of Tebenkov's log. meaning 'lake within the point') is a fjord located on the coast of the south-east part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is long and wide at its widest point. ...

, Lituya,

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

) was a French explorer and naval officer.

Early life: 1762–1780

Marchainville was born 26 June 1762, to father

Jean-Joseph de Laborde Jean-Joseph, marquis de Laborde (29 January 1724 – 18 April 1794) was a French businessman, '' fermier général'' and banker to the king, who turned politician. A liberal, he was guillotined in the French Revolution. Biography Laborde was b ...

(1724–1794) and mother Rosalie Claire Josèphe de Nettine (1737–1815). He also had eight siblings, including François Laborde de Méreville.

Life

In 1780, on board ''la Couronne'', commanded by

Guichen Guichen (; ; Gallo: ''Gischen'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. History Population Inhabitants of Guichen are called ''Guichenais'' in French. Image gallery File: Halles-guichen-2014 ...

, Marchainville participated in battles of the

American Revolutionary War 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 ...

and bore himself so well that his captain mentioned him favourably in dispatches. On ''l'Aigrette'', commanded by Fleuriot de Langle he functioned as an "officier chargé du détail", as he also did on board the ''la Résolue''. In 1784, he was held to be experienced enough to command the corvette ''la Fauvette''. Leaving

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

for île de France in consort with ''le Réfléchi'', ''la Fauvette'' was separated by a sudden storm in the approaches to the a great bank off

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and so Marchainville returned with only one ship, despite bad weather on the return voyage. A good and brave sailor, he was also noted for his scientific researches, which won him a "lunette de mer" on 23 August 1777. On 9 March 1785, he gained permission to spend 3 months in England and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to learn more about science. On his return to

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

in June 1785, Marchainville was immediately chosen to fill the supplementary role of enseigne prévue on board the ''l'Astrolabe'' and Langle, Marchainville's commander twice before, very probably asked for him to serve under him again. He and his brother

Ange Ange (English: Angel) is a French progressive rock band formed in September 1969 by the Décamps brothers, Francis (keyboards) and Christian (vocals, accordion, acoustic guitar and keyboards). Since its inception the band's music has been inspi ...

died on the La Pérouse expedition, and their father (the wealthy court banker

) erected a blue-turquoise marble

rostral column A rostral column is a type of victory column originating in ancient Greece and Rome, where they were erected to commemorate a naval military victory. Its defining characteristic is the integrated prows or rams of ships, representing captured o ...

beside a pool at his

château de Méréville The Château de Méréville is a chateau in Méréville in the valley of the Juine, France. It is the rival of the Désert de Retz as two of the most extensive Landscape Gardens provided with follies and picturesque features — ''parcs à fab ...

, decorated with 4 ships' bows, to glorify their virtues.

Notes

References

External links

His genealogy on geneanet samlap
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laborde de Marchainville, Edouard Jean Joseph de 1762 births 1786 deaths French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War French Navy officers French explorers People who died at sea