Louis Philippe (1773-1850) was king of the French from 1830 to 1848. Although his authoritarian regime was overthrown by the February Revolution, his reign was marked by domestic prosperity, stability, and intellectual fecundity.

Born in Paris on Oct. 6, 1773, Louis Philippe was the eldest son of Philippe Égalité, Duc d'Orléans. From 1785 until his father's execution (Nov. 6, 1793), he was known as the Duc de Chartres, thereafter as the Duc d'Orléans and the leader of the cadet branch of the Bourbon family.

In 1790 the duke joined the Jacobin Club and after 1792 posed as a republican. A lieutenant general at 18, he fought at Valmy, Jemappes, and Neerwinden. But, alienated by the Terror, he joined Charles François Dumouriez in a plot to overthrow the Republic. The army, however, refused to follow them, and on April 5, 1793, they deserted.

For the next 2 decades the duke sojourned in Switzerland, America...