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
Marguerite de Launay, baronne de Staal Marguerite de Launay, baronne de Staal Marguerite Jeanne Cordier de Launay, baronne de Staal (30 August 1684 – 15 June 1750) was a French author. De Launay was born in Paris. Her father was a painter named Cordier. He seems to have deserted her mother, who then resumed her maiden name, de Launay, which was also adopted by her daughter. She was educated at a convent at Evreux, of which Mme de La Rochefoucauld, sister of François de La Rochefoucauld, author of the "Maximes", was superior. There, she became attached to Mme de Grieu, who, being appointed abbess of the