Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

Marquis de Lafayette
Lafayette as a lieutenant general, in 1791. Portrait by Joseph-Désiré Court
Birth name	Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette
Nickname(s)	The Hero of the Two Worlds (Le Héros des Deux Mondes in French)
Born	(1757-09-06)6 September 1757 Chavaniac, France
Died	20 May 1834(1834-05-20) (aged 76) Paris, France
Buried at	Picpus Cemetery
Allegiance	Kingdom of France (1771–1777, 1781–1791)  United States of America (1777–1781) Kingdom of France (1791–1792)  French First Republic Kingdom of France (1830)
Service/branch	French Army Continental Army National Guard
Years of service	1771–1792 1830
Rank	Major General (U.S.) Lieutenant General (France)
Battles/wars	American Revolutionary War Battle of Brandywine Battle of Gloucester Valley Forge Battle of Barren Hill Battle of Rhode Island Battle of Monmouth Battle of Green Spring Siege of Yorktown French Revolution The March on Versailles Day of Daggers Champ de Mars massacre War of the First Coalition July Revolution
Awards	Order of Saint Louis
Relations	Wife: Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles (1759–1807) Son: Georges Washington (1779–1849) Daughters: Henriette (1776–1778) Anastasie (1777–1863) Virginie (1782–1849)
Other work	Politician Estates General (Auvergne) Member of the National Assembly Chamber of Representatives Chamber of Deputies
Signature

American Revolutionary War

French Revolution

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (French pronunciation: ​[maʁki də la fajɛt]; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), in the U.S. often known simply as Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. A close friend of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830.

Born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France, Lafayette came from a wealthy landowning family. He followed its martial tradition, and was commissioned an officer at age 13. He became convinced that the American cause in its revolutionary war was noble, and travelled to the New World seeking glory in it. There, he was made a major general, though initially the 19-year-old was not given troops to command. Wounded during the Battle of Brandywine, he still managed to organize an orderly retreat. He served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island. In the middle of the war, he returned home to lobby for an increase in French support. He again sailed to America in 1780, and was given senior positions in the Continental Army. In 1781, troops in Virginia under his command blocked forces led by Cornwallis until other American and French forces could position themselves for the decisive Siege of Yorktown.