Theodor Franz, Count of Baillet von Latour (15 June 17806 October 1848) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

soldier and statesman. As the Imperial Minister of War, he was killed by a mob at the beginning of the

Vienna Uprising The Vienna Uprising or October Revolution (, or ) of October 1848 was the last uprising in the Austrian Revolution of 1848. On 6 October 1848, as the troops of the Austrian Empire were preparing to leave Vienna to suppress the Hungarian Revolu ...

Biography

Latour was born at

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

the son of Count Maximilian Anton Karl Baillet de Latour (17371806), a ''

Feldmarschall-Leutnant Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), was a senior army rank in certai ...

'' in Austrian service during the Revolutionary Wars of Walloon descent. After a military and engineering training at the

Theresian Military Academy The Theresian Military Academy (, TherMilAk) is a military academy in Austria, where the Austrian Armed Forces train their officers. Founded in 1751, the academy is located in the castle of Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria. History The Th ...

, he entered the corps of engineers in 1799 and became a member of the general staff of the Austrian

Imperial and Royal Army The Common Army (, ) as it was officially designated by the Imperial and Royal Military Administration, was the largest part of the Austro-Hungarian land forces from 1867 to 1914, the other two elements being the Imperial-Royal Landwehr (of Au ...

in 1804. Latour took part in various military campaigns of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

in which he distinguished himself and was highly decorated. During

European Restoration The Concert of Europe was a general agreement among the great powers of 19th-century Europe to maintain the European balance of power, political boundaries, and spheres of influence. Never a perfect unity and subject to disputes and jockeyin ...

he filled an array of leadership roles in the military ranks up to a ''

Feldzeugmeister General of the Artillery () was a historical military rank in some German and Austro-Hungarian armies, specifically in artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th and 17th centuries, and survived until the beginning of the 20th century in some Euro ...

'', and in addition served as the head of the military commission attached to the '' Bundesversammlung'' (assembly) of the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

at Frankfurt, contributed to the design of the fortifications at

Rastatt Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 51,000 (2022). Rastatt was an ...

, and finally was director of engineering. In the

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

he was called to head the war ministry in the cabinet of Minister-President Count

Karl Ludwig von Ficquelmont Karl Ludwig, Count of Ficquelmont (; ; 23 March 1777 – 7 April 1857) was an Austrian aristocrat, statesman and Field marshal of the Austrian Imperial army of French noble origin. Biography French nobleman He was born Gabriel-''Charles-Lou ...

, whose direction he saw to without regard to his advanced years. A distinct asserter of

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

, his efforts especially sought to give the public no cause for unrest. Faced with the Hungarian Revolution, Latour backed the loyal forces of Ban

Josip Jelačić Count Josip Jelačić von Bužim (16 October 180120 May 1859; also spelled ''Jellachich'', ''Jellačić'' or ''Jellasics''; ; ) was a Croatian lieutenant field marshal in the Imperial Austrian Army and politician. He was the Ban of Croatia betw ...

and arranged troops to second his campaign. These efforts sparked the

: On 6 October 1848 a crowd of students, workers and mutinous soldiers forcibly tried to prevent the troops marching off. In the following street fights, an outraged mob sought Latour out in the war ministry and

lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of in ...

him.

References

* “Latour, Theodor Franz, Graf Baillet von” in ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

'', Band 18 (Leipzig, 1883), S. 16–17. *

Carl Schurz Carl Christian Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German-American revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He migrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent ...

, ''Reminiscences'' (3 volumes), New York: The McClure Company, 1907. In Chapter VI of Volume I, Schurz recalls Latour's assassination: “minister of war, Count Latour, was hanged to a lamp-post by an infuriated crowd.” {{DEFAULTSORT:Latour, Theodor Franz, Count Baillet Von 1780 births 1848 deaths 19th-century Austrian people Austrian soldiers People of the Revolutions of 1848 Counts of Baillet-Latour Assassinated Austrian politicians Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Politicians from Linz Military personnel from Linz Politicians assassinated in the 1840s