Biographies : 11
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BiographyDALBERG, Carl Theodor von
The son of the Burggrave of Friedberg, private councillor to the elector of Mainz, and of Maria Sophia Anna, countess of Eltz-Kempenich, Carl Theodor von Dalberg entered university in Heidelberg to study law (1759-1761). On becoming an administrator for the elector of Mainz, Dalberg (1744-1817), became Vicar General in 1768 and governor of Erfurt in […]
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BiographyDAVOUT, Louis Nicolas (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823)
Arguably the finest corps commander among Napoleon’s marshals, Davout was born in Burgundy to a minor noble family, and followed his father to the royal cavalry in 1788. Though a supporter of the French Revolution, he was dismissed from the regular army in 1791, but immediatelty elected colonel in command of a volunteer battalion. He […]
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BiographyDE COLOGNA, Abraham Vita
Abraham Vita de Cologna was born in Mantua, Italy, on 25 September, 1754. His father Samuel, chief Jew in the Mantua from 1758 to 1788, gave him a thorough education from an early age in Judaic theology and philosophy, which naturally lead to his becoming a rabbi. He was to become Great Rabbi of Mantua and […]
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BiographyDE PRADT, Dominique-Georges Dufour
(1759-1837), French clergyman and ambassador “The most severe judgements accumulate beneath his master of intrigue, his lack of scruples and his great intelligence, all characteristics which could only make his official protector, Talleyrand, appreciate him more”, writes Bernard Plongeron. This “quintessentially Auvergnien figure” (he seems to have walked straight out of a novel by Balzac) […]
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BiographyDECAEN, Charles-Mathieu-Isidore
Fact file Born Caen, 13 April, 1769, died of cholera, La Barre (near Montmorency, Seine-et-Oise), 9 September, 1832 Cannonier de 2e classe in the Corps de Cannoniers, Brest, 27 July, 1787 Sergeant-major in the 4e Bataillon du Calvados, 14 September, 1792 Served in the Armée du Nord and then the Armée du Rhin, 1793, notably […]
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BiographyDENON, Dominque Vivant
Denon, one of the key figures in the artistic world of the First Empire, was born in Givry, near to Châlons-sur-Sâone in Franche Comté, 4 January 1747 into a family of the lesser nobility. At eighteen he went to Paris to study not only law (his parents wanted him to be a magistrate) but also […]
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BiographyDOMBROWSKI, Jan Henryk
Polish general Dombrowski was born in Poland, near Krakow. He fought for the Saxon troops from 1770-1784, before taking up service in the Polish army in 1791. After the failed Kosciuszko uprising, of which he was a part of, Dombrowski sought refuge in France in 1795 and formed the Polish legions, with which he fought […]
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BiographyDU PIN, Charles Louis Désiré
Although a marginal figure, particularly amongst other officers of the period, Colonel Du Pin’s importance and reknown was to prove considerable, far exceeding that of many generals who refused to associate with him. Most famously, he was a key but controversial figure in the French intervention in Mexico. Born in Lasgraisses (Tarn) on 28 December, […]
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BiographyDU TAILLIS, Adrien-Jean-Baptiste-Amable Ramond du Bosc (1760-1851), general, Comte
Born into a noble family and a pupil from the engineers' school, Du Taillis joined the Volontaires Nassau-Siegen corps in 1779. On 1st September, 1789, he was capitaine-adjudant-major in the 3rd Battalion of the 6th division of the Garde nationale de Paris. On 3rd August, 1791, he was incorporated into the 14th light infantry battalion […]
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BiographyDubois de Saligny, Alphonse, (1809-1888) diplomat
Alphonse Dubois de Saligny was appointed Secrétaire de légation in 1830 in compensation for his participation in the revolution of the Trois-Glorieuses in 1830. His career was however to be patchy. He was sent to Washington, as chargé d'affaires for the Republic of Texas (from 1839 to 1842), with a mission to prevent that state's […]