<P> Bernard René Jourdan, marquis de Launay (1740--1789) was the French governor of the Bastille, the son of a previous governor, and commander of its garrison when the prison - fortress in Paris was stormed on 14 July 1789 (see Storming of the Bastille). </P> <P> The marquis Bernard - René Jordan de Launay was born on the night of 8 / 9 April 1740 in the Bastille where his father was governor . At the age of eight he was appointed to an honorary position in the King's Musketeers (mousquetaires du roi). He subsequently entered the French Guards (gardes - françaises), a regiment permanently stationed in Paris except in time of war . </P>

What happened to the governor of the bastille in 1789