Louis Gustave le Doulcet de Pontécoulant | |
|---|---|
 Louis Gustave le Doulcet de Pontécoulant | |
| President of the National Convention | |
| In office 4 July 1795 – 19 July 1795 | |
| Member of theCouncil of Five Hundred | |
| In office 1795–1797 | |
| Senator of the First French Empire | |
| In office 1805–1814 | |
| Peer of France | |
| In office 1814–1853 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Louis Gustave le Doulcet de Pontécoulant 17 November 1764 |
| Died | 3 April 1853(1853-04-03) (aged 88) Paris,France |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Political party | Girondins |
| Children |
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| Known for | Author ofSouvenirs historiques et parlementaires |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Battles/wars | |
Louis Gustave le Doulcet,comtedePontécoulant (French pronunciation:[lwiɡystavlədulsɛkɔ̃tdəpɔ̃tekulɑ̃]; 17 November 1764 – 3 April 1853) was a French politician and military officer. He was the father ofLouis Adolphe le Doulcet andPhilippe Gustave le Doulcet.
Born inCaen on the 1764,[1] he began a military career with theCompagnie Écossaise of theGarde du corps du Roi in 1778, becominglieutenant colonel in 1791.[citation needed]
A moderate supporter of theFrench Revolution, he was elected to theNational Convention for thedépartement ofCalvados in 1792, and became commissioner with theArmy of the North during theFrench Revolutionary Wars.[1]
He voted for the imprisonment ofKingLouis XVI during the war, and hisbanishment after the peace. He then attached himself to theGirondists, voting in favor ofJean-Paul Marat's prosecution, and was consequently declared anenemy of the people in August 1793,.[1] being pursued by theReign of Terror and taking refuge toSwitzerland.[citation needed]
In July,Charlotte Corday, the assassin of Marat, asked Le Doulcet to defend her, but he did not receive in time her letter soClaude François Chauveau-Lagarde was appointed instead to assist her during the trial.[1][2][3] However, it is said that Corday thought that Le Doulcet refused to defend her and sent to him a last letter of reproach just before going to the scaffold.[1][4]
He returned to theThermidorian Convention on 8 March 1795, and was noted for his moderation, especially after defendingPrieur de la Marne andJean-Baptiste Robert Lindet. President of the Convention in July 1795, he was for some months a member of theCouncil of Public Safety.[1]
Doulcet was subsequently elected to theFrench Directory'sCouncil of Five Hundred, but was suspected ofRoyalist sympathies, and had to spend some time in retirement betweenanti-monarchist coup of 18 Fructidor (4 September 1797) and the establishment of theConsulate (the18 Brumaire coup of 9 November 1799).[1]
Becomingsenator of theFirst French Empire in 1805, andcount of the Empire in 1808, he organized the national guard inFranche-Comté in 1811, and thedefence of the north-eastern frontier in 1813.[1]
During the 1814Bourbon Restoration,Louis XVIII made him aPeer of France, and although he received a similar honor fromNapoleon during theHundred Days, he remained in the upper house after the return of the king.
He died inParis, leaving memoirs and correspondence from which were extracted four volumes (1861–1865) ofSouvenirs historiques et parlementaires, 1764-1848.[1]
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pontécoulant, Louis Gustave le Doulcet, Comte de".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 63.| International | |
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