Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, born in 1757, was a French aristocrat who fought in the American Revolution. Orphaned at 12, he defied his family and King Louis XVI to join the Americans at age 19. He befriended George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, serving as a key figure in the war. After the war, he returned to France, participating in the French Revolution. His involvement led to imprisonment. He was a close friend of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton. He died in 1834.