Governor of the Bastille nine years after his birth. He was a Black Musketeer of the King, officer in the Gardes Françaises until 1763-1764, then captain of a cavalry regiment. During the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, De Launay was arrested and escorted to the town hall by one of the leaders of the Revolution, Pierre-Augustin Hulin. In the Place de Greve the furious crowd attacked the escort, assaulting and eventually beheading Governor Launay. After the capture of the fortress, Prosper Soulès assumed the interim duties of acting commander. Governor of the Bastille The Bastille or Bastille Saint-Antoine was completed in
Chateau and Seigneurie de Launay the wealthy du Gronchay family. For the first time in its history, the transfer of the chateau, its lands and title was through sale rather than inheritance or marriage. Over the next three generations, seven members of the du Gronchay clan held the title and property at one time or another. In 1607 the surviving children of Jérôme de Gronchay, Jacquine (b. 1578) and Catherine (b. 1579), Dames de Larières and Launay inherited. When Jacquine married Jehan de Breton, Seigneur de la Calabriere, a few months later, Jehan became Seigneur de Launay, as well as Vaibesnard and Pouvray. Jehan died