TALLEYRAND - P E R I G O R D, CHARLES MAURICE DE pd-re-goe), PRINCE OF BENEVENTO, a French diplomatist; born in Paris, France, Feb. 13, 1754. Though the eldest of three brothers he was, in consequence of lameness caused by an accident, de prived of his rights of primogeniture, and devoted, against his will, to the priesthood. His high birth and great ability procured him rapid advancement, and in 1788 he was consecrated Bishop of Autun. On the meeting of the States General he was elected deputy for Autun. He sided with the popular leaders in the revolutionary movements; and his advocacy of the abolition of tithes and the transference of Church lands to the State gained him great popularity. In 1790 he was elected president of the Na tional Assembly. When the civil con stitution of the clergy was adopted he gave his adhesion to it. For this he was excommunicated by a papal brief, and thereupon renounced his episcopal functions (1791). In 1792 he was sent to London charged with diplomatic func tions, and during his stay there was pro scribed for alleged royalist intrigues. Forced to leave England by the provi sions of the Alien Act, in 1794 he sailed for the United States, but returned to France in 1796. The following year he was appointed minister of foreign af fairs; but being suspected of keeping up an understanding with the agents of Louis XVIII. he was obliged to resign in July, 1799.
He now devoted himself entirely to Bonaparte, and after the latter's return from Egypt contributed greatly to the events of the 18th Brumaire (Nov. 10,
1799), when the directory fell and the consulate began. He was then reap pointed minister of foreign affairs, and for the next few years was the executant of all Bonaparte's diplomatic schemes. After the establishment of the empire in 1804 he was appointed to the office of grand-chamberlain, and in 1806 was cre ated Prince of Benevento. After the peace of Tilsit in 1807 a coolness took place between him and Napoleon, and be came more and more marked. In 1808 he secretly joined a royalist committee. In 1814 he procured Napoleon's abdica tion, and afterward exerted himself very effectually in re-establishing Louis XVIII. on the throne of his ancestors. He took part in the Congress of Vienna, and in 1815, when the allies again en tered Paris, he became president of the council with the portfolio of foreign af fairs; but as he objected to sign the sec ond peace of Paris he gave in his resig nation. After this he retired into pri vate life, in which he remained for 15 years. When the revolution of July, 1830, broke out, he advised Louis Philippe to place himself at its head and to accept the throne. Declining the of fice of minister of foreign affairs he pro ceeded to London as ambassador, and crowned his career by the formation of the Quadruple Alliance. He resigned in November, 1834, and quitted public life forever. He died in Paris May 17, 1838. His "Memoirs" were published in 1891.