Gérard - Michel Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély

Michel Louis Etienne Regnaud, later 1st Count Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély (3 December 1761, Saint-Fargeau – 11 March 1819,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

) was a French politician.

Biography

Early activities

He was a lawyer in

and

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

of the maritime provostship of

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

. With the outbreak 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

in 1789, he was elected deputy to the Estates-General by the

Third Estate The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...

in the '' sénéchaussée'' of

Saint-Jean-d'Angély Saint-Jean-d'Angély (; Saintongeais: ''Sént-Jhan-d'Anjhéli'') 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 Founded in the ...

. His eloquence made him a prominent figure in the National Constituent Assembly, where he boldly attacked

Honoré Mirabeau Honoré is a name of French origin and may refer to several people or places: Given name Sovereigns of Monaco Lords of Monaco * Honoré I of Monaco Princes of Monaco * Honoré II of Monaco * Honoré III of Monaco * Honoré IV of Monaco * Honor� ...

, and settled the dispute about the ashes of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

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 XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

's flight to Varennes, by his refusal to accede to the demands for the king's

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

, and by the articles he published in the ''

Journal de Paris The ''Journal de Paris'' (1777–1840) was the first daily French newspaper.(7 October 2014)The first French daily: Journal de Paris History of JournalismAndrews, ElizabethBetween Auteurs and Abonnés: Reading the Journal de Paris, 1787–1789 '' ...

'' and the ''Ami des Patriotes'', marked him out for the hostility of the radical parties. He was arrested after the revolution of 10 August, but succeeded in escaping, and during the

Thermidorian Reaction The Thermidorian Reaction (french: Réaction thermidorienne or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term, in the historiography of the French Revolution, for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespie ...

which followed the fall of

Maximilien 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 ...

, Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély was appointed administrator of the military hospitals in Paris. His powers of organization brought him to

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 who ...

's notice. He accompanied Napoleon during the

French invasion of Malta The French invasion of Malta ( mt, Invażjoni Franċiża ta' Malta) was the successful invasion of the islands of Malta and Gozo, then ruled by the Order of St. John, by the French First Republic led by Napoleon Bonaparte in June 1798 as part of ...

in June 1798, but he became sick and did not participate in the subsequent campaign in Egypt. Regnaud was appointed Commissioner of Government of French-occupied Malta and he was the editor of the propaganda newspaper '' Journal de Malte'' before returning to France in November 1798. The following year, he took part in the

18 Brumaire Coup The Coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and led to the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor. This bloodless ''coup d'état'' over ...

(9 November 1799).

Empire and later life

Under the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, he enjoyed the confidence of Napoleon 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 The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

, persuaded the Emperor Napoleon 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 A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

s, ''Les Souvenirs du Comte Regnault de St Jean d'Angély'' (Paris, 1817), are spurious.

Family

Regnaud had married in 1795 Laure Guesnon de Bonneuil, the daughter of a former Maître d'Hôtel of the

Count of Artois The count of Artois (French: Comtes d'Artois, Dutch: Graven van Artesië) was the ruler over the County of Artois from the 9th century until the abolition of the countship by the French revolutionaries in 1790. House of Artois *Odalric (c. 850 ...

. They had no children, but his natural son Auguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély became

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 ( ...

Notes

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Regnaud De Saint-Jean Dangely, Michel-Louis-Etienne 1761 births 1819 deaths People from Yonne Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Counts of the First French Empire Members of the Chamber of Representatives (France) 18th-century French lawyers People of the French Revolution Expelled members of the Académie Française Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Commission des Sciences et des Arts members French occupation of Malta Newspaper editors of the French Revolution