Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay Bernard René Jourdan, marquis de Launay (1740–1789) was the French governor of the Bastille, the son of a previous governor, and commander of its garrison when the prison-fortress in Paris was stormed on 14 July 1789 ("see Storming of the Bastille"). The marquis Bernard-René Jordan de Launay was born on the night of 8/9 April 1740 in the Bastille where his father, René Jourdan de Launay, was governor. At the age of eight he was appointed to an honorary position in the King's Musketeers ("mousquetaires du roi"). He subsequently entered the French Guards ("gardes-françaises"), a regiment
Louis Le Provost de Launay studied law in Paris and obtained his license. For a period he was secretary to Théodore Grandperret. At the start of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 he joined the "Chasseurs d'Afrique" as a private soldier, and later was made a sub-officer. After the war he received his doctorate in law and was admitted to the Bar in 1872. In 1875 Le Provost de Launay was elected general councilor for Côtes-du-Nord representing the canton of La Roche-Derrien. He was elected mayor of Penvénan on 18 May 1884. He was replaced on 10 December 1893 by Pierre Le Provost de Launay. In