LOUIS XVI. (1754-1793), king of France, was the son of Louis, dauphin of France, the son of Louis XV., and of Marie Joseph of Saxony, and was born at Versailles on Aug. 23, 1754, being baptized as Louis Augustus. His father's death in 1765 made him heir to the throne, and in 177o he married Marie Antoinette (q.v.) daughter of the empress Maria Theresa. He was twenty years old when the death of Louis XV. on May 1o, 1774, placed him on the throne. He began his reign under good auspices, with Turgot, the greatest living French statesman, in charge of the disorganized finances ; but in less than two years he dismissed him. Turgot's successor, Necker, however, continued the regime of reform until 1781, and it was only with Necker's dismissal that the period of reaction began. Marie Antoinette then obtained that ascendancy over her husband which was partly responsible for the extravagance of the ministry of Calonne.
The third part of his reign began with the meeting of the states general on May 4, 1789, which marked the opening of the Revolu tion. The revolt of Paris and the taking of the Bastille on July 14 were its results. The suspicion, not without justification, of a second attempt at a coup d'etat led on Oct. 6, to the "capture" of the king and royal family at Versailles by a mob from Paris, and their transference to the Tuileries. In spite of the growing radicalism of the clubs, however, loyalty to the king remained surprisingly strong. When he swore to maintain the constitution, then in progress of construction, at the festival of the federation on July 14, 179o, he was at the height of his popularity. Even his attempted flight on June 20, 1791, did not entirely turn the nation against him. Arrested at Varennes, he was maintained as a constitutional king, and took his oath on Sept. 13, 1791.
But already a party was forming in Paris which demanded his deposition. This first became noticeable in connection with the affair of the Champ de Mars on July 17, 1791. Crushed for a time the party gained strength through the winter of 1791-1792. The declaration of war against the emperor Francis II., nephew of Marie Antoinette, was forced upon the king by those who wished to discredit him by failure, or to compel him to declare himself openly an enemy to the Revolution. Their policy proved effective. The failure of the war, which intensified popular hatred of the Austrian queen, involved the king ; and the invasion of the Tuileries on June 20, 1792, was but the prelude to the con spiracy which resulted on Aug. io, in the capture of the palace
and the "suspension" of royalty by the Legislative Assembly until the convocation of a national convention in September. On Sept. 21, 1792, the Convention declared royalty abolished, and in Janu ary it tried the king for his treason against the nation, and con demned him to death. He was executed on Jan. 21, 1793.
Louis XVI. was weak in character and mentally dull. His courage and dignity during his trial and on the scaffold has left him a better reputation than he deserves. His diary shows how little he understood, or cared for, the business of a king. Days on which he had not shot anything at the hunt were blank days for him. The greater part of his time was spent hunting. He also amused himself making locks, and a little at masonry. On one point only, he actively resisted the Revolution. A devoted and sincere Roman Catholic, he refused at first to sanction a constitu tion for the church in France without the pope's approval, and after he had been compelled to allow the constitution to become law he intrigued feebly against the Revolution. When he gave in, he delayed his acquiescence until it had the air of a surrender.
Having lost his elder son in 1789 Louis left two children, Louis Charles, usually known as Louis XVII. (q.v.), and Marie Thérèse Charlotte (1778-1851), duchess of Angouleme. The "orphan of the Temple," as the princess was called, was in prison for three years, during which time she remained ignorant of the fate which had befallen her parents. She died on Oct. 19, 1851. Her life by G. Lenotre has been translated into English by J. L. May (1908).
See the articles FRENCH REVOLUTION and MARIE ANTOINETTE. F. X. J. Droz, Histoire du regne de Louis XVI. (3 vols., 186o), a sane and good history of the period ; and Arsene Houssaye, Louis XVI. (1891). See also the numerous memoirs of the time, and the marquis de Segues Au couchant de la monarchie, Louis XVI. et Turgot (Iwo) ; de Baissiere, La mort du roi, 21 janvier 1793 (Igo()) Durfel, La diplomatie de la France sous Louis XVI. (1919).
For bibliographies see G. Monod, Bibl. de la France; Lavisse et Rambaud, Hist. Univ., vols. vii. and viii.; and the Cambridge Modern History, vol. viii.