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

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 13 July 1786, Baie des Français, Lituya,

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

) 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 de Laborde, Marquis of Laborde (29 January 1724 – 18 April 1794) was a French businessman, slave trader, ''fermier général'' and banker to the king, who turned politician. A liberal, he was guillotined in the French Revolution. ...

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

François Laborde de Méreville François Louis Jean-Joseph de Laborde (1761–1801) was a French banker, deputy for the Third Estate to the Estates General of 1789 and garden lover. He also bore the name Méréville after his huge estate at château de Méréville in Beauce, Fra ...

Life

In 1780, on board ''la Couronne'', commanded by Guichen, 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

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

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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 is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

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 , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

to learn more about science. On his return to 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 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 Naval ram, rams of ships, representing ...

beside a pool at his château de Méréville, 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