Jean Baptiste Kléber


Kléber, Jean Baptiste

 

Born Mar. 9, 1753, in Strasbourg; died June 14, 1800, in Cairo. French general. The son of a mason.

Kléber served in the Austrian Army. In 1789 he joined the French National Guard. For his distinguished services in 1793 in the defense of Mainz, he was promoted to brigadier general. In 1793 he was among those in charge of suppressing the revolt in La Vendée. During the Egyptian expedition of 1798–1801 he commanded a division; after N. Bonaparte’s departure in August 1799, he was commander of all French troops in Egypt. In March 1800, he routed the Turkish Army at Heliopolis and forced its remnants out of Egypt. He was murdered by a Turkish nationalist.