Louis Antoine de Gontaut, Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetLouis Antoine de Gontaut
marshal of France
Date of Birth: 
About Louis Antoine de Gontaut
- Louis Antoine de Gontaut-Biron, duc de Biron (1700–1788) was Duke of Biron and a French military leader who served with distinction under Louis XV, and was made a Marshal of France in 1757. He was the fourth son of Charles-Armand de Gontaut, duc de Biron, and Marie-Antoinette, Duchesse de Lauzun.
- He joined the army as an adolescent.
- He fought in Italy (attack on the Milan castle, Tortona and the Battle of San Pietro).
- In the War of the Austrian Succession, he participated in 1741 in the invasion of Moravia and the Siege of Prague, where he was badly wounded.
- In 1745, during the Battle of Fontenoy, he became a hero, when he took over the command of a regiment of Gardes Françaises after its commander had been killed, and saved the difficult situation the regiment was in.
- He became Marshal of France at the beginning of the Seven Years' War.
- Biron was very popular amongst his soldiers.
- It is said that some of his men risked their lives to save his, when in 1770 Biron was caught in a stampede caused by fireworks.
- In 1753, he bought the Hôtel Biron from Anne, Duchess of Maine, which still can be visited today as it houses the Musée Rodin.
- After his death, the title of Duc de Biron passed to his nephew Armand Louis de Gontaut.
Read more at Wikipedia