Lafayette: Did you mean...?

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (l. 1757-1834), more commonly known in the United States as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat, military officer, and politician. He was a major figure in both the...

James Armistead Lafayette (l. c. 1748-1832) was an African American Patriot who served the Continental Army as a spy during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). During the Siege of Yorktown, he infiltrated the British camp to bring...

The Champ de Mars Massacre was an incident that took place on 17 July 1791, when soldiers of the National Guard under the Marquis de Lafayette opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators, who were calling for a referendum on the king's abdication...

The Women's March on Versailles, also known as the October March or the October Days, was a defining moment in the early months of the French Revolution (1789-1799). On 5 October 1789, crowds of Parisian market women marched on Versailles...

The Demonstration of 20 June 1792 was a final attempt by the sans-culottes of Paris to reconcile King Louis XVI of France (r. 1774-1792) with the French Revolution (1789-99). Prompted by the king's veto of popular decrees, the people invaded...

A portrait of Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette (center) at the Siege of Yorktown; on the right is depicted James Armistead, an enslaved African American spy who gathered intelligence on the British army to deliver to the marquis. After...

The Festival of the Federation (Fête de la Fédération) was a celebration that occurred on the Champ de Mars outside Paris on 14 July 1790, the first anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille. With over 300,000 people in attendance, the...

The Flight to Varennes was a pivotal moment of the French Revolution (1789-1799), in which King Louis XVI of France (r.1774-92), his wife Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-93), and their children attempted to escape from Paris on the night of...

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: Declaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen) is a human rights document adopted in the early stages of the French Revolution (1789-1799). Inspired by Enlightenment Age principles...

The involvement of France in the American War of Independence (1775-1783) was not only significant in the progress of the war itself but also as a critical moment for France. Whereas French intervention in the war would help turn the tide...