Jacques Claude, comte Beugnot (25 July 1761 – 24 June 1835) was a French politician before, during, and after 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 ...

. His son Auguste Arthur Beugnot was an historian and scholar.

Biography

Revolution

Born at

Bar-sur-Aube Bar-sur-Aube (, literally ''Bar on Aube'') is a commune and a sub-prefecture in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of France. Surrounded by hills and Champagne vineyards, the city is traversed by the river Aube, from which it derive ...

(

Aube Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),ancien régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

'', and was elected deputy to the Legislative Assembly (1791). A Feuillant and later a

Girondist The Girondins ( , ), or Girondists, were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnard ...

, he was proscribed along with the Girondists after

François Hanriot François Hanriot (2 December 1759 – 28 July 1794) was a French Sans-culotte leader, street orator, and commander of the Garde Nationale during the French Revolution. He played a vital role in the Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 and sub ...

's intervention and the trial of October 1793, and was imprisoned in the

Conciergerie The Conciergerie () ( en, Lodge) is a former courthouse and prison in Paris, France, located on the west of the Île de la Cité, below the Palais de Justice. It was originally part of the former royal palace, the Palais de la Cité, which als ...

until 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 ...

Napoleon

He next entered into relations with the family of

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 in 1799, after the

coup of 18 Brumaire 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'' ...

, again entered politics, becoming successively ''

préfet A prefect (french: préfet, plural ''préfets'') in France is the state's representative in a department or region. Subprefects (French: ''sous-préfets'') are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, known as arrondissements. The office ...

'' of the Seine-Inférieure ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'', member of the '' Conseil d'État'', and finance minister to Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, during the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...

. In 1808 Beugnot, who had meanwhile been appointed administrator of the Grand Duchy of Berg-Cleves, received the cross of an '' Officier de la Légion d'honneur'' with the title of

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. He returned to France in 1813, after the battle of Leipzig, and was made prefect of the ''département'' of Nord.

Bourbons

In 1814, he was a member of the provisional government as

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, and rallied to the House of Bourbon.

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

named him director-general of police and afterwards Naval Minister. He followed Louis to

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

during the Hundred Days, became one of his confidants, and contributed to draw up Louis's Charter. He claimed (in his ''Mémoires'') to have also furnished the text of the proclamation addressed by the king to the French people before his return to France - but it is known now that it was another text that was adopted. After the full Bourbon Restoration, lacking the support of the

Ultra-royalist The Ultra-royalists (french: ultraroyalistes, collectively Ultras) were a French political faction from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration. An Ultra was usually a member of the nobility of high society who strongly supported Roman Cath ...

s, he was given the title of

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

without portfolio, which was equivalent to a retirement. Elected deputy, he attached himself to the moderate party, and defended the

liberty of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

. In 1830, he was made a Peer of France by

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

, and confirmed by

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

after the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

, becoming and director-general of manufactures and commerce.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beugnot, Jacques Claude 1761 births 1835 deaths People from Bar-sur-Aube Counts of the First French Empire Girondins French interior ministers Ministers of Marine and the Colonies Members of the Legislative Assembly (France) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Prefects of France Prefects of Seine-Maritime Prefects of Nord (French department) Prefects of police of Paris Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French male non-fiction writers 18th-century French memoirists 19th-century French memoirists