later duke de Magenta
born July 13, 1808, Sully, France
died Oct. 17, 1893, Loiret
French soldier and second president (1873–79) of the Third Republic .
Descended from an Irish Jacobite family, he began his army career in 1827 and distinguished himself in the Crimean War and in the Italian campaign at the Battle of Paris Commune in 1871. He was elected president after the resignation of Adolphe Thiers . During his term the {{link=Constitutional Laws of 1875">Constitutional Laws of 1875 were promulgated. Mac-Mahon resigned following a constitutional crisis that was resolved in favour of parliamentary control of the government. Thereafter in the Third Republic, the office of president became largely honorific.