Louis-Joseph, Duke of Brittany
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Louis-Joseph-Xavier (October 22, 1781-June 4, 1789) was the second child and first son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. As the heir apparent to the French throne, he was called the dauphin. A sweet-natured child, unlike Madame Royale, Louis-Joseph died at the age of seven of what was then known as "consumption" (tuberculosis). On his death the title of dauphin passed to his younger brother Louis-Charles (1785–1795), who would survive his father and die in prison at the age of ten.
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, is named for him (Louis Joseph de Bourbon). The Pennsylvania legislature, meeting in Philadelphia in 1785, to thank France for helping America win her independence from Great Britain, named the newly formed county, "Dauphin", northwest of Lancaster and north of York, in which Harrisburg is located. "Dauphin" was the title of the heir to the French throne, much as the title "Prince of Wales" is the title of the heir to the British throne.
The abolition of the monarchy in France in September 1792, as the French Revolution became more radical, ended the significance of the title and name "Dauphin" in France at that time. Although the French monarchy was restored from 1815 to 1848, the title "Dauphin" again ended in 1848, with France never again having a king. However, in America, in Pennsylvania, the name and title "Dauphin" is preserved in the county of Pennsylvania where Harrisburg (the present state capital) is located.
[edit] Bibliography
History of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Historical Commission, Harrisburg, PA
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