Pompadour, Marquise de, << POM puh `dohr` or pawn pa DOOR, mahr KEEZ duh >> (1721-1764), was a mistress of King Louis XV of France who played an important part in the politics of Louis’s reign. Madame de Pompadour kept her influence long after the king’s love for her had cooled. She gave Louis political advice and served as his private secretary. She was blamed for the alliance between France and Austria and France’s disastrous involvement in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). She was also a generous supporter of the arts.
Madame de Pompadour was born on Dec. 29, 1721, in Paris to a middle-class family. Her maiden name was Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson. She received an excellent education and was introduced to high society at the home of Charles-François Le Normant de Tournehem, a wealthy financier. In 1741, she married his nephew Charles-Guillaume Le Normant d’Étoiles. In 1746, she met King Louis at a ball. Louis fell in love with her. She left her husband and went to live in Versailles as Louis’s mistress. She received the title Marquise de Pompadour. She died on April 15, 1764.
See also Louis XV.
