General Notes

Orléans, Louis Philippe Joseph, Duc d' (1747-93), French nobleman, cousin of
King Louis XVI, who during the French Revolution adopted the name Philippe
Égalité. Before the Revolution, he distributed books and papers throughout
France advocating liberal ideas. In June 1789, during the meeting of the
Estates-General summoned by the king, he led the 47 nobles who seceded from
their own order to join the revolutionary third estate. He was elected to the
National Convention and voted for the death of Louis XVI. In 1793, during the
Reign of Terror, he was guillotined. His son Louis Philippe became king of
France in 1830.