He has been considered a national hero in both countries. After returning to France, he was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – ), known in the United States as Lafayette ( / ˌ l ɑː f iː ˈ ɛ t, ˌ l æ f-/, French: ), was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War, commanding American troops in several battles, including the siege of Yorktown.
