View source for Louis Antoine de Gontaut, 6th Duke of Biron

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'''Louis Antoine de Gontaut, 6th Duke of Biron''' (1700–1788) was [[Duke of Biron]] and a French military leader who served with distinction under [[Louis XV]], and was made a [[Marshal of France]] in 1757.
He was the fourth son of [[Charles-Armand de Gontaut, duc Biron]], and Marie Antoinette, Duchess of Lauzun. He joined the army as an adolescent. He fought in Italy (attack on the [[Milan]] castle, [[Tortona]] and the [[Battle of San Pietro]]). In the [[War of the Austrian Succession]], he participated in 1741 in the invasion of [[Moravia]] and the Siege of Prague, where he was badly wounded. In 1745, during the [[Battle of Fontenoy]], he became a hero, when he took over the command of a regiment of [[Gardes Françaises]] after its commander had been killed, and saved the difficult situation the regiment was in. He became Marshal of France at the beginning of the [[Seven Years' War]]. Biron was very popular amongst his soldiers. It is said that some of his men risked their lives to save his, when in 1770 Biron was caught in a [[stampede]] caused by fireworks. In 1753, he bought the [[Hôtel Biron]] from [[Anne, Duchess of Maine]], which still can be visited today as it houses the [[Musée Rodin]]. After his death, the title of ''Duc de Biron'' passed to his nephew [[Armand Louis de Gontaut]].
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060528123310/http://web.genealogie.free.fr/Les_dynasties/Les_dynasties_celebres/France/Dynastie_de_Gontaut.htm Dynasty of Gontaut]
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[[Category:1700 births]]
[[Category:1788 deaths]]
[[Category:Marshals of France|Biron, Louis Antoine de Gontaut]]
[[Category:Dukes of Biron|Louis Antoine de Gontaut]]
[[Category:House of Gontaut|Louis Antoine]]
[[Category:18th-century peers of France]]