Argenson, René Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d' [key], 1694–1757, French foreign minister (1744–47), brother of Marc Pierre d'Argenson. Well intentioned but impractical, he sought to form a federation of Italian states and to make France the disinterested arbiter of international affairs. After committing numerous blunders he was dismissed and appointed president of the Academy of Inscriptions. A friend of François Marie de Voltaire and the Encyclopedists, he spent the rest of his life in study and in literary pursuits. He left memoirs.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: French History: Biographies
