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
Louis Le Provost de Launay Louis Le Provost de Launay Louis Le Provost de Launay (8 June 1850 – 17 August 1912) was a French politician who was Deputy and then Senator for the department of Côtes-du-Nord (now called Côtes-d'Armor). He was a right-wing Bonapartist. Louis Le Provost de Launay was born on 8 June 1850 in Libourne, Gironde. His father was Auguste-Pierre-Marie Le Provost de Launay (1823–1886). His father was a prefect of the Second French Empire who was elected a representative in the National Assembly in 1874, deputy from 1877 to 1881, and senator from 1885 to 1886. Louis Le Provost de Launay