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
Chateau and Seigneurie de Launay to style himself as Sieur de Grandmaison. He pursued a military career, first as a lieutenant in the "Iron Regiment", later as Captain of the Queen's household. He died in January 1794. The Lombron Parish registry recorded that on Sunday, 18 September 1762 much of the seigneurial Grandmaison was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt and somewhat enlarged over the next two years. In another set back many of the Launay properties were confiscated by the Republicans (French Revolution) in June 1791. Three children were born to André Guyonneau and his wife, Anne Gabrielle Harrison d’ Auvours. Two boys died