François Alexandre Frédéric, duc de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt
| François Alexandre Frédéric de La Rochefoucauld | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
11 January 1747 La Roche Guyon |
| Died | 27 March 1827 (aged 80) |
| Title | duc de la Rochefoucauld |
| Tenure | 1792-1827 |
| Other names | Duc de Liancourt; Duc d'Estissac |
| Known for | social reform; vaccination |
| Nationality | French |
François Alexandre Frédéric de La Rochefoucauld, Duke of La Rochefoucauld (11 January 1747 – 27 March 1827) was a French social reformer.
He was born at La Roche Guyon, the son of François Armand de La Rochefoucauld, duc d'Estissac, grand master of the royal wardrobe. One of his cousins was Louis Alexandre de La Rochefoucauld d'Enville.
Known as the duc de Liancourt in infancy, he became an officer of carbineers, and married at seventeen. A visit to England seems to have suggested the establishment of a model farm at Liancourt, where he reared cattle imported from England and Switzerland. He also set up spinning machines on his estate, and founded a school, École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers, for the sons of soldiers, which became in 1788 the École des Enfants de la Patrie under royal protection. In 2008, this school was renamed Arts et Métiers ParisTech.
He was elected to the Estates-General of 1789, and sought in vain to support the cause of royalty, while furthering the social reforms he sought.
On 12 July, two days before the storming of the Bastille, he warned Louis XVI of the state of affairs in Paris, and met his exclamation that there was a revolt with the answer, "Non, sire, c'est une révolution." ("No, majesty, it is a revolution.")
On 18 July, he became president of the National Constituent Assembly. Established in command of a military division in Normandy, he offered Louis a refuge in Rouen, and, failing in this effort, assisted him with a large sum of money.
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