Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban

French military engineer

Written by

Robert S. Quimby

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Britannica Editors

History

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (born May 15, 1633, Saint-Léger-de-Foucherest [now Saint-Léger-Vauban], France—died March 30, 1707, Paris) was a French military engineer who revolutionized the art of siege craft and defensive fortifications. He fought in all of France’s wars of Louis XIV’s reign (1643–1715). Vauban was from a family of very modest means that belonged to the petty nobility. In 1651 he became a cadet in the regiment of Louis II de Bourbon, prince de...