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Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France

Versailles, 22 Oct 1781 – Château de Meudon, 4 Jun 1789

8 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

  • Born22 Oct 1781, Versaillesnot verified1 source
  • Died4 Jun 1789, Château de Meudonnot verified1 source
  • FatherLouis XVI of Francenot verified1 source
  • MotherMarie Antoinettenot verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 22 Oct 1781

    Born in Versailles

  2. 4 Jun 1789

    Dies in Château de Meudon, aged 7

Family

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Parents

During his lifetime

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1780s · Louis is born in Versailles

In the news1789

Storming of the Bastille in 1789

On July 14, 1789, Parisian citizens stormed the Bastille prison, a pivotal event that signaled the start of the French Revolution and the collapse of royal authority.

What people wore

Commoners often went barefoot and wore secondhand

Ordinary rural people in France often went barefoot during the warmer seasons and relied heavily on secondhand clothing, as buying new outfits was exceptional.

Daily life

Limited rural schooling

In many rural areas, primary education was inconsistently provided by the local priest or his vicar, focusing only on basic reading, writing, and catechism.

In the news1783

First human flight in 1783

King Louis XVI hosted the first successful human flight in a hot-air balloon at Versailles, lasting 25 minutes on November 21, 1783.

Music

Popular dances included minuet and contredanse

The minuet and the contredanse were the two most popular dances, with the latter being a favorite figure dance involving four couples. People frequently organized and enjoyed balls in the provinces during this period.

In Europe1772–1795

Poland is partitioned

Russia, Prussia and Austria divided Poland among themselves in three steps until, in 1795, it vanished from the map for 123 years.

Getting around

Long travel times across France

To cross France from Brest to Strasbourg, it took 20 to 30 days on foot or by a slow-moving carriage. Travelers using horse-drawn carriages that changed horses at relay stations could cover the same distance in half that time, though this was an exhausting effort.