Louis Philippe

Louis Philippe (1773-1850) was king of the France from 1830 till 1848, born at Paris, eldest son of the Duke of Orleans, renounced his titles along with his father, and joined the National Guard and the Jacobins at the Revolution as M. Egalité. After the defeat of Neerwinden 1793, where he commanded the centre, he fled to Austria and Switzerland and supported himself by teaching. After three years in the United States he came to London in 1800, and on the fall of Napoleon repaired to Paris and recovered his estates. He gained popularity with the bourgeoisie, and when the Revolution of July 1830 overthrew Charles X, he succeeded to the throne as the elected sovereign of the people. Under the "citizen king" France prospered. However, his government gradually became reactionary and violent. He used his great wealth in giving bribes, tampered with trial by jury and the freedom of the press, and so raised against him both the old aristocracy and the working-classes. Political agitation culminated in the Revolution of February 1848. He was forced to abdicate and escaped with his queen to England, where he died.

Nearby pages
Louis Pierre Anquetil, Louis Stanton Auchincloss, Louis VI Le Gros, Louis VII the Young, Louis VIII the Lion, Louis XI the son of Charles VII