A Brief Biography of the Marquis de Lafayette
The College awarded the Marquis the honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service (posthumous) at the 175th Commencement in May 2010. The following brief biography appeared in
A Brief Biography of the Marquis de Lafayette
The College awarded the Marquis the honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service (posthumous) at the 175th Commencement in May 2010. The following brief biography appeared in the Commencement program:
Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), was a renowned statesman who boldly championed the cause of freedom and individual rights throughout his life. A French aristocrat and a military leader in both the American and French revolutions, Lafayette was beloved on both continents. During his 1824 triumphal Farewell Tour of America, which concluded 185 years ago, the Marquis was greeted with expressions of great esteem everywhere. Easton lawyer James Madison Porter was so impressed upon meeting him in Philadelphia that he proposed the town’s new college be named Lafayette as “a testimony of respect for his talents, virtues, and signal services... in the great cause of freedom.”
Born into a family with illustrious ancestors on both sides, it seemed likely that Lafayette would have a conventional aristocratic, military career. Instead, he took a different direction, joining the Freemasons in 1775 and two years later, at age 20, buying a ship and sailing to America to volunteer for service in General George Washington’s army. A revolutionary from an early age, he adopted the motto “cur non?” (why not?) for his coat of arms. He wrote in a letter to his wife during the voyage, “The welfare of America is intimately connected with the happiness of all mankind; she will become the respectable and safe asylum of virtue, integrity, tolerance, equality, and a peaceful liberty.”
As principal author of