Alfred Guillaume Gabriel, Count D'Orsay (September 4, 1801 - August 4, 1852), the famous dandy and wit, was born in Paris, and was the son of General D'Orsay, from whom he inherited an exceptionally handsome person. September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years). ... 1801 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

Through his mother he was grandson by a morganatic marriage of the king of Württemberg. In his youth he entered the French army, and served as a garde du corps of Louis XVIII. In 1822, while stationed at Valence on the Rhone, he formed an acquaintance with the earl and countess of Blessington, which quickly ripened into intimacy, and at the invitation of the earl he accompanied the party on their tour through Italy. A morganatic marriage is a type of marriage which can be contracted in certain countries, usually between persons of unequal social rank (unebenbürtig in German), which prevents the passage of the husbands titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage. ... Württemberg (often spelled Wurttemberg in English) refers to an area and a former state in Swabia, a region in south-western Germany. ... Louis XVIII (November 17, 1755 - September 16, 1824) was King of France from 1814 (although he declared that he considered his reign to have begun in 1795) until his death in 1824. ... Valence is a scientific term in chemistry to describe electrons in the outermost orbital. ... Marguerite, countess of Blessington (September 1, 1789 - June 4, 1849), Irish novelist and miscellaneous writer, daughter of Edmund Power, a small landowner, was born near Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland. ...

In the spring of 1823 he met Lord Byron at Genoa, and the published correspondence of the poet at this period contains numerous references to the counts gifts and accomplishments, and to his peculiar relationship to the Blessington family. A diary which D'Orsay had kept during a visit to London in 1821-1822 was submitted to Byron's inspection, and was much praised by him for the knowledge of men and manners and the keen faculty of observation it displayed. Lord Byron, English poet Lord Byron (1803), as painted by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824) was the most widely read English language poet of his day. ... Alternate uses, see Genoa (disambiguation). ...

On December 1, 1827 Count D'Orsay married Lady Harriet Gardiner, a girl of fifteen, the daughter of Lord Blessington by his previous wife. The union, if it rendered his connection with the Blessington family less ostensibly equivocal than before, was in other respects an unhappy one, and a separation took place almost immediately. December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

After the death of Lord Blessington, which occurred in 1829, the widowed countess returned to England, accompanied by Count D'Orsay, and her home, first at Seamore Place, then at Gore House, soon became a resort of the fashionable literary and artistic society of London, which found an equal attraction in host and in hostess. The count's charming manner, brilliant wit, and artistic faculty were accompanied by benevolent moral qualities, which endeared him to all his associates. His skill as a painter and sculptor was shown in numerous portraits and statuettes representing his friends, which were marked by great vigour and truthfulness, if wanting in the finish that can only be reached by persistent discipline.

Count D'Orsay had been from his youth a zealous Bonapartist, and one of the most frequent guests at Gore House was Prince Louis Napoleon. In 1849 he went bankrupt, and the establishment at Gore House being broken up, he went to Paris with Lady Blessington, who died a few weeks after their arrival. Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français... ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ...

He endeavoured to provide for himself by painting portraits. He was deep in the counsels of the prince president, but the relation between them was less cordial after the coup d'état, of which the count had by anticipation expressed his strong disapproval. His appointment to the post of director of fine arts was announced only a few days before his death. A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ...

Much information as to the life and character of Count D'Orsay is to be found in Richard Madden's Literary Life and Correspondence of the Countess of Blessington (1855).

Reference

• This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.