Jean Pierre Sioussat (September 22, 1781 – April 2, 1864) was a Paris-born American who was the first Master of Ceremonies during the presidency of

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

Dolley Madison Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of bo ...

was known to manage the weekly state dinners that the President hosted, and as her duties expanded, Dolley hired Sioussat. He had prior worked for the British Minister and "his knowledge of French customs made him particularly valuable at official functions." During the

Burning of Washington The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington City (now Washington, D.C.), the capital of the United States, during the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812. It is the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, Sioussat assisted Dolley Madison, the White House doorman John Suse' and Paul Jennings in saving the George Washington portrait and evacuating the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

References

External links

* 1781 births 1864 deaths American people of the War of 1812 Masters of ceremonies French emigrants to the United States {{US-bio-stub