Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos

Cardinal Richelieu: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As l’Éminence Rouge • the Red Eminence • Armand-Jean du Plessis, cardinal et duc de Richelieu
Born September 9, 1585 • France
Died December 4, 1642 (aged 57) • Paris • France
Founder French Academy
Role In Day of the Dupes • Siege of La Rochelle • Thirty Years’ War

Photos

Full-length portrait of Cardinal Richelieu by Philippe de Champaigne, showing him in red clerical robes holding a red book, standing beside a balustrade with a draped curtain behind.
tomb of Cardinal de Richelieu
Cardinal de Richelieu
See All Images →
Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
president of France
Charles Le Brun: Portrait of King Louis XIV
Louis XIV
king of France
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
French statesman
Louis XIII
Louis XIII
king of France
default image
Louis-Adolphe Bonard
French admiral
default image
Frederick Herman, duke of Schomberg
German soldier
Hanotaux, detail of an engraving by Dujardin after a portrait by Benjamin Constant
Gabriel Hanotaux
French statesman and historian
Portrait of Napoleon III in a dark military uniform with gold epaulettes, a red sash, and medals, set against a deep red background. Painted by Hippolyte Flandrin.
Napoleon III
emperor of France
Henry IV, undated copperplate engraving.
Henry IV
king of France
Francis I
Francis I
king of France
Jules, Cardinal Mazarin
Jules, Cardinal Mazarin
French cardinal and statesman
Leo X
Leo X
pope
Madame de Pompadour, detail of a portrait by François Boucher; in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.
Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, marquise de Pompadour
French aristocrat
default image
Francis Garnier
French naval officer
Louis Faidherbe
Louis Faidherbe
governor of French Senegal
default image
Marie-Jules Dupré
French naval officer
default image
Gaston, duke d’Orléans
French prince
Peter Paul Rubens: portrait of Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria
queen of France
Dupleix, engraving by Marie Champion de Cernel after a portrait by Sergent
Joseph-François Dupleix
French colonial official
Ferry
Jules Ferry
French statesman