A distinguished hero of the American Revolutionary War, one of the drafters of France's Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, and a key figure in the July Revolution. Amid the storms that swept across the Atlantic in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Marquis de Lafayette linked two continents and two revolutions, earning the title "Hero of Two Worlds". His life was like lightning across the ocean, joining the fight for American independence with the dawn of French liberty. Born into a noble family in Auvergne, France, Lafayette embraced Enlightenment ideals from a young age. When the American Revolution broke out, he spent his own fortune, defied the king's orders, and sailed west. At Valley Forge, he shared the hardship of the Continental Army; at Yorktown, he fought beside Washington and Rochambeau, helping secure the final victory that gave birth to the United States. When revolution came to France, Lafayette was chosen as Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard. He helped draft the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, wove the red and blue of Paris with the white of the monarchy into the Tricolor, and ordered the Bastille dismantled, tearing open a path toward a new age of liberty. Yet the revolution’s tide soon turned against moderation. Lafayette was driven from power and imprisoned for years, but he never abandoned his ideals. In the July Revolution of 1830, he took command of the National Guard one last time. After his death in Paris, the United States mourned him as a nation. He was buried in Paris with American soil placed in his grave. His name still echoes across streets, squares, and history—as a friend of America, a friend of Washington, and a friend of liberty.