Born September 6, 1757
Chavaniac, France
Died May 20, 1834
Paris, France

French military leader, politician

"At the first news of this quarrel my heart was enrolled in it."
Portrait: Marquis de Lafayette. Reproduced by permission of the National Portrait Gallery.

Among the heroes of the Revolutionary War (1775–83), only the name of George Washington (see entry) ranks higher than that of the Marquis de Lafayette, the renowned Frenchman who put his life and fortune at the disposal of the American rebels in their fight with England. Although his political skills were sometimes not equal to his lofty purposes, he had an important influence on the creation of new governments in both America and his French homeland. Lafayette supported social equality, representation of the common people in government, religious tolerance, and freedom of the press, which was unusual for a person of his time and class in society.

For...