born April 24, 1849, Saint-Béat, France
died May 27, 1916, Versailles
French army officer.
As governor of the French Sudan (1886–88), he successfully combated rebel Sudanese forces. After service in Indochina (1892–96), he returned to Africa as governor-general of Madagascar (1896–1905) and won a reputation as a judicious and flexible colonial master. He successfully integrated both African territories into the French colonial empire. Named military commander of Paris just before World War I, he fought in the First Battle of the Marne and became minister of war in 1915. He was posthumously created marshal of France (1921).