Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, formerly Marquis de Lafayette (or la Fayette) (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834) was a French military officer born in the Haute-Loire. Lafayette was a general in the American Revolutionary War and a leader of the Garde Nationale during the French Revolution. After the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, Lafayette continued to participate in French politics until his death. He returned to the United States for a widely publicized tour in 1824.