Argenson, Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy, comte d'

Argenson, Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy, comte d'

(märk pyĕr də vwäyā` də pōmē` kôNt därzhäNsôN`), 1696–1764, French statesman and patron of literature; younger brother of René Louis d'Argenson. As secretary of state for war (1743–57), he assisted Maurice de SaxeSaxe, Maurice, comte de
, 1696–1750, marshal of France, one of the greatest generals of his age. He was the illegitimate son of Augustus II of Poland and Saxony and Countess Maria Aurora von Königsmark.
..... Click the link for more information.  in reforming the army, especially the artillery, and founded the École militaire. He was also charged with administrative control of the city of Paris. The Champs Élysées and the Place de la Concorde were planned by him. He was a friend and patron of the philosophes, and Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert dedicated the Encyclopédie to him.