Famous 16th Century French Leaders

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 1 
Cardinal Richelieu
(French Clergyman and First Minister of State (1624 - 1642))
Cardinal Richelieu
13
Birthdate: September 9, 1585
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: December 4, 1642

Cardinal Richelieu was a French clergyman and statesman who was active in the early 17th century. He held powerful positions in both the Catholic Church and French government and served as the chief minister to Louis XIII of France in 1624. He helped the French maintain their dominance in the Thirty Years' War that engulfed Europe. 

 2 
Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé
(General)
Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé
5
Birthdate: May 7, 1530
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Vendôme, France
Died: March 13, 1569
 3 
Louis, Prince of Conde
(Prince)
Louis, Prince of Conde
5
Birthdate: May 7, 1530
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Vendôme, France
Died: March 13, 1569
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 4 
Francis, Duke of Anjou
(Duke)
Francis, Duke of Anjou
7
Birthdate: March 18, 1555
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Fontainebleau, France
Died: June 10, 1584
 5 
Henry I, Duke of Guise
(Noblemen)
Henry I, Duke of Guise
4
Birthdate: December 31, 1550
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: France
Died: December 23, 1588
 6 
Charles III, Duke of Lorraine
(Duke of Lorraine)
Charles III, Duke of Lorraine
3
Birthdate: February 18, 1543
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, Nancy, France
Died: May 14, 1608
 7 
Gaspard II de Coligny
(Admiral)
Gaspard II de Coligny
2
Birthdate: February 16, 1519
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Châtillon-Coligny, France
Died: August 24, 1572
 8 
Joseph-François Dupleix
(French colonial official)
Joseph-François Dupleix
2
Birthdate: January 1, 1697
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Landrecies, France
Died: November 10, 1763
 9 
Claude, Duke of Guise
(Nobleman)
Claude, Duke of Guise
3
Birthdate: October 20, 1496
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Castle of Condé, France
Died: April 12, 1550
 10 
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon
(Military Leader)
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon
2
Birthdate: February 17, 1490
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Montpensier, France
Died: May 6, 1527
 11 
Francis, Duke of Guise
(General)
Francis, Duke of Guise
3
Birthdate: February 17, 1519
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Bar, France
Died: February 24, 1563
 12 
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
(Duke of Savoy Who Recovered Most of the Territories Previously Lost to Spain and France)
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
2
Birthdate: July 8, 1528
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chambéry, France
Died: August 30, 1580

A 16th-century Duke of Savoy, Emmanuel Philibert, also known as Testa di ferro, was the only child of Charles III, Duke of Savoy. An able soldier, he is remembered for recovering most of the territories his father had lost to Spain and France. He also stressed on Italian as the official language.

 13 
Anne, duke de Montmorency
(French Soldier, Diplomat, and Statesman)
Anne, duke de Montmorency
2
Birthdate: March 15, 1493
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chantilly, France
Died: November 12, 1567
 14 
Jean Ribault
(French Navigator and Naval Officer Who Colonized the American Southeast)
Jean Ribault
2
Birthdate: 1520 AD
Birthplace: Dieppe, France
Died: October 12, 1565

Jean Ribault was a French navigator and naval officer. He is best remembered for colonizing what would eventually become the American Southeast. Jean Ribault also played an important role in the attempts of the French to colonize Florida.

 15 
Anne de Pisseleu, duchess d'Étampes
(French political figure)
Anne de Pisseleu, duchess d'Étampes
2
Birthdate: 1508 AD
Birthplace: Fontaine-Lavaganne, France
Died: 1580 AD
 16 
Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully
(French Soldier, Statesman, and Nobleman)
Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully
1
Birthdate: December 13, 1560
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Château de Rosny-sur-Seine, Rosny-sur-Seine, France
Died: December 22, 1641
 17 
Henri, Prince of Condé
(Prince)
Henri, Prince of Condé
2
Birthdate: September 1, 1588
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Saint-Jean-d’Angely, France
Died: December 26, 1646
 18 
Henri I de Bourbon, Prince of Condé
(Prince)
Henri I de Bourbon, Prince of Condé
1
Birthdate: December 29, 1552
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, Île-de-France, France
Died: March 5, 1588
 19 
Henri, duke de Rohan
(Breton-French Soldier, Leader of the Huguenots, and Writer)
Henri, duke de Rohan
1
Birthdate: August 21, 1579
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Château de Blain, Blain, France
Died: April 13, 1638
 20 
Philippe de Mornay
(Writer)
Philippe de Mornay
1
Birthdate: November 5, 1549
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Buhy, France
Died: November 11, 1623
 21 
Charles, Duke of Mayenne
(Military leader)
Charles, Duke of Mayenne
1
Birthdate: March 26, 1554
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Alençon, France
Died: October 3, 1611
 22 
Henri II, duke de Montmorency
(Military commander)
Henri II, duke de Montmorency
1
Birthdate: April 30, 1595
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Château de Chantilly, France
Died: October 30, 1632
 23 
Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette
(Political figure)
Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette
1
Birthdate: 1554
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Cazaux-Savès, France
Died: January 13, 1642
 24 
François Bonivard
(Genevan Nobleman, Historian and Politician)
François Bonivard
1
Birthdate: 1493 AD
Birthplace: Seyssel, France
Died: 1570 AD

François Bonivard was a nobleman and historian whose life was the inspiration for Lord Byron's 1816 poem The Prisoner of Chillon. He was a partisan of the Protestant Reformation and a Geneva patriot at the time of the Republic of Geneva. His life was tumultuous, and by most accounts, he was a libertine. He was married four times.

 25 
Henri I de Montmorency
(Statesman)
Henri I de Montmorency
1
Birthdate: June 15, 1534
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Chantilly, France
Died: April 2, 1614
 26 
Michel de L'Hospital
(Statesman)
Michel de L'Hospital
1
Birthdate: 1507 AD
Birthplace: History of Auvergne, France
Died: March 13, 1573
 27 
Charles, Count of Soissons
(Military commander)
Charles, Count of Soissons
1
Birthdate: November 3, 1566
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Nogent-le-Rotrou, France
Died: November 1, 1612
 28 
Pierre Séguier
(Statesman)
Pierre Séguier
1
Birthdate: May 28, 1588
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: January 28, 1672
 29 
Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Nemours
(Duke)
Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Nemours
0
Birthdate: February 12, 1567
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Unknown
Died: August 13, 1595
 30 
Philippe de Chabot
(Admiral)
Philippe de Chabot
0
Birthdate: 1492 AD
Birthplace: Unknown
Died: June 1, 1543
 31 
Blaise de Lasseran‑Massencôme, seigneur de Montluc
(Marshal of France)
Blaise de Lasseran‑Massencôme, seigneur de Montluc
0
Birthdate: 1502 AD
Birthplace: Condom, France
Died: July 26, 1577
 32 
Benjamin de Rohan, seigneur de Soubise
(Huguenot leader)
Benjamin de Rohan, seigneur de Soubise
0
Birthdate: 1583 AD
Birthplace: La Rochelle, France
Died: October 9, 1642
 33 
Jacques d'Albon, seigneur de Saint-André
(Soldier)
Jacques d'Albon, seigneur de Saint-André
0
Birthdate: 1505 AD
Birthplace: Église Saint-Valérien de Châteaudun, Châteaudun, France
Died: December 19, 1562
 34 
Guillaume du Bellay
(Diplomat)
Guillaume du Bellay
0
Birthdate: 1491 AD
Birthplace: Souday, Couëtron-au-Perche, France
Died: January 9, 1543
 35 
Abraham de Fabert
(Marshal)
Abraham de Fabert
0
Birthdate: October 11, 1599
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Metz, France
Died: May 17, 1662
 36 
Pierre Jeannin
(Statesman)
Pierre Jeannin
0
Birthdate: 1540 AD
Birthplace: Autun, France
Died: March 22, 1623
 37 
Philibert Berthelier
(Patriot)
Philibert Berthelier
0
Birthdate: 1465 AD
Birthplace: Virieu-le-Grand, France
Died: August 23, 1519
 38 
François de Beaumont
(Military leader)
François de Beaumont
0
Birthdate: 1513 AD
Birthplace: Isere, France
Died: February 2, 1587
 39 
Charles de Biencourt de Saint-Just
(Military Officer)
Charles de Biencourt de Saint-Just
0
Birthdate: 1591 AD
Birthplace: Champagne, France
Died: 1623 AD
 40 
Antoine Duprat
(Politician)
Antoine Duprat
0
Birthdate: January 17, 1463
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: France
Died: July 9, 1535