Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay permanently stationed in Paris except in time of war. In 1776 de Launay succeeded M. de Jumilhac as Governor of the Bastille. As was the custom with many senior positions under the Ancien Régime, the marquis purchased the office of governor from his predecessor as a form of investment. The thirteen years that he spent in this position were uneventful, though on 19 December 1778 he reportedly made the mistake of failing to fire the cannon of the Bastille as a salute on the birth of a daughter (Madame Royale) to King Louis XVI. In August 1785 he was given
Patriotic Society of 1789 Patriotic Society of 1789 The Society of 1789 (French: "Club de 1789"), or the Patriotic Society of 1789 (French: "Société patriotique de 1789"), was a political club of the French Revolution inaugurated during a festive banquet held at Palais-Royal in May 1790 by more moderate elements of the Club Breton. At their height of influence, it was the second most important club after the Jacobin Club. Among its members were Jean Sylvain Bailly, Mayor of Paris; Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, commander-in-chief of the National Guard; François Alexandre Frédéric, duc de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Isaac René Guy le Chapelier,