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 in 1543; Gabrielle remarried 13 months later. Her second marriage (Seigneur de Pescheray) was a short one. She died in 1546 at age 36. To a degree Pierre remained a fugitive. Records reveal that he was arrested on 6 October 1525. The death sentence, still in place, was not carried out but he was forced to pay a heavy fine in 1526. Beyond this all that is known of Pierre de Bernay is that he had a son, Jehan de Bernay, who inherited the Seigneurie de Launay. In 1551 the Seigneurie de Launay passed from the de Bernay family to