Engineer and scientist

François Alexandre Frédéric, Duke of La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, was born in 1747, into a great French noble family. A descendant of a famous French memorialist, in 1769 he inherited the title of Grand Master of the Robes under Louis XVI. However, he was attracted by the new times and went to England where he was inspired with the ideas that would mark his whole life: the role of science in improving agriculture, the huge potential of industry and the need for education and institutions to ensure the development of society. When he returned to Paris, he set up a model farm, then the National School for Arts and Crafts. He imported vaccinia into France and promoted public education.         

Philanthropist and politician

Loyal to the king but against absolute monarchy, his whole life was deeply rooted in the Age of Enlightenment and the process revolutionizing science, technology and customs. He was elected to the States-General in 1789. He was appointed Deputy of the Assembly and became its first president.

He also reported to the Committee for the eradication of begging and was founder of the administrative department of the Oise. He emigrated to the United States in 1791 and returned to France at the time of the Empire, but staying away from any power, he wrote several works about the Anglo-Saxon world.

François de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt and the Caisse d’Epargne

He was the first president of the Caisse d’Epargne in Paris, founded in 1818, and remained at the head of the institution until his death in 1827. For him, the Paris Caisse d’Epargne “is not just an act of charity, it is also a moral institution, an institution with a sound and wide-ranging policy, a patriotic movement.”