The Marquis de Lafayette — Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier — inherited title and fortune as a youth and, unattracted by court life, embarked on a military career. Inspired by the American cause, he sailed to America in 1777 at his own expense, was commissioned a major general by the Continental Congress, and became a trusted aide and friend to George Washington.
He distinguished himself at Brandywine, Monmouth, and the decisive Yorktown campaign, and helped secure the French alliance that proved essential to American independence. Returning to France, he became a leading figure in the early French Revolution, helping draft the Declaration of the Rights of Man and commanding the National Guard. Honored on both sides of the Atlantic, he made a triumphal farewell tour of the United States in 1824–25 and died in Paris in 1834.