deaths
July 22, 1789
Joseph Foullon de Doué, French politician, Controller-General of Finances (born 1715)
Joseph Foullon de Doué
Joseph-François Foullon de Doué was a French politician and a Controller-General of Finances under Louis XVI. A deeply unpopular figure, he has the ignominious distinction of being the first recorded person to have been lynched à la lanterne.
Controller-General of Finances
The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of Finances was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. It replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances, which was abolished with the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet. It did not hold any real political power until 1665, when First Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who had acted upon financial matters since Fouquet's embezzlement charge, was appointed to the office.