The French economist Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de I'Aulne (1721-1781), was controller general under Louis XVI. His efforts to reform the Old Regime were thwarted by the failure of the King to support him against the opposition of the privileged classes.

Originally A. R. J. Turgot planned to enter the Church but experienced doubts concerning his religious calling and turned to a public career. After holding a number of legal positions he purchased, as was the practice, the office of master of requests, a post that often led to appointment as intendant, the chief administrator of a district. However, Turgot's interests extended beyond the law and administration. He was a friend of the philosophes and frequented the intellectual salons of Paris; in 1760 he visited Voltaire, then in exile. He also contributed articles to the Encyclopédie, wrote an essay on toleration, and planned an ambitious history...