Marquis de Lafayette

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Early life and the American Revolution
The French Revolution
Return to the United States and final years

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George Washington and the marquis de Lafayette

Frederick Girsch: Die Helden der Revolution

Colored engraving showing a crowd of revolutionaries storming the Bastille fortress, with smoke and flames rising from a building, during the French Revolution on July 14, 1789.

Lafayette, lithograph by Francois-Seraphin Delpech after a portrait by Maurin

Lafayette, Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de

At a Glance

Marquis de Lafayette summary

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American Colonial Flag, popularly attributed to Betsy Ross, was designed during the American Revolutionary War features 13 stars to represent the original 13 colonies.

Facts You Should Know: American Revolution

The American Revolution

Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga, by Percy Moran, circa 1911. Saratoga Campaign, American Revolution, Revolutionary War.

Understanding the American Revolution

Related Questions

How did Thomas Jefferson assist the Marquis de Lafayette with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen?
How did the Champ de Mars incident damage the Marquis de Lafayette’s popularity?
How did the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake help the Marquis de Lafayette’s forces at Yorktown?
How did the Marquis de Lafayette become friends with George Washington?
How did the Marquis de Lafayette inherit his fortune?
How did the Marquis de Lafayette protect Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette at Versailles in October 1789?
How old was the Marquis de Lafayette when he became a Continental Army major general?
How was the Marquis de Lafayette injured at the Battle of Brandywine?
What army command did the Marquis de Lafayette receive at Metz?
What command did the Marquis de Lafayette receive after the Battle of Brandywine?
What did the Marquis de Lafayette do at the Battle of Brandywine?
What family background did the Marquis de Lafayette have in France?
What happened at the Champ de Mars on July 17, 1791?
What military rank did the Marquis de Lafayette receive after returning to France in 1782?
What was the Marquis de Lafayette’s position on the slave trade?
When and where was the Marquis de Lafayette born?
When did the Marquis de Lafayette present his draft of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen?
Where was the Marquis de Lafayette buried, and why was Bunker Hill soil placed in his grave?
Why did several U.S. states make the Marquis de Lafayette an honorary citizen?
Why did the Marquis de Lafayette escort the French royal family from Versailles to Paris?
Why did the Marquis de Lafayette fear further democratization during the French Revolution?
Why did the Marquis de Lafayette oppose radical democrats during the French Revolution?
Why did the Marquis de Lafayette resign from command of the National Guard in 1791?
Why did the Marquis de Lafayette return to France in 1779?
Why did the Marquis de Lafayette travel to the American colonies in 1777?
Why did the Marquis de Lafayette visit the United States in 1824?
Why was the Marquis de Lafayette called the Hero of Two Worlds?
Why was the Marquis de Lafayette chosen to command the National Guard of Paris?
Why was the Marquis de Lafayette’s address to the U.S. House of Representatives historically significant?
Why was the Siege of Yorktown important to the outcome of the American Revolution?
Why was the relationship between George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette compared to that of a father and son?
Why were so many American cities named after the Marquis de Lafayette?
Who was the Marquis de Lafayette?
What role did Lafayette play in the American Revolution?
How did Lafayette contribute to the French Revolution?
Why was George Armstrong Custer important?
How did George Armstrong Custer die?
What did George Armstrong Custer accomplish?
Why was James A. Garfield assassinated?
Who assassinated James A. Garfield?
How long did James A. Garfield survive after being shot?
Who was James A. Garfield’s vice president?

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External Websites

Alpha History - Marquis de Lafayette
Potter's Wax Museum - Marquis de Lafayette
La Salle University Digital Commons - Man, Myth, Marquis: A Historiographic Essay on the Marquis de Lafayette
World History Encyclopedia - Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
Encyclopedia Virginia - Marquis de Lafayette (1757Â–1834)
Libertarianism.org - Generous Heart: Marquis de Lafayette
National Park Service - Marquis de Lafayette
Thomas Jefferson's Monticello - Marquis de Lafayette
USHistory.org - The Marquis de Lafayette
American Battlefield Trust - Marquis de Lafayette
Lafayette College - The Marquis de Lafayette
George Washington's Mount Vernon - Marquis de Lafayette
The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati - A Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Marquis de Lafayette - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Lafayette - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Marquis de Lafayette

French noble

Also known as: Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette, Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette(Show More)

Written by

Marc Leepson

Historian and journalist Marc Leepson is the author of nine books, including What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life; Saving Monticello; and Ballad of the Green Beret: The Life and...

Marc Leepson

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Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

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Last updated

Oct. 19, 2026 •History

Marquis de Lafayette (born September 6, 1757, Chavaniac, France—died May 20, 1834, Paris) was a French aristocrat who fought in the Continental Army with the American colonists against the British in the American Revolution. Later, as a leading advocate for constitutional monarchy, he became one of the most powerful men in France during the first few years of the French Revolution and during the July Revolution of 1830. Lafayette was born into an ancient noble...

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