Francois De Vendome Beaufort, duke of, son of Cesar de Vendome and grandson of Henry IV. of France, born in Paris in January, 1616, died June 25, 1669. He served with some distinction during the 30 years' war, and meddled in the conspiracy of Cinq-Mars against Cardinal Richelieu. In consequence of this last affair he was obliged to seek a refuge in England. On the accession of Louis XIV., the queen regent, Anne of Austria, showed him great favor, which he repaid with insolence. Implicated in a plot against the life of Mazarin, he was imprisoned in the chateau of Vincennes. Escaping in 1648, he joined the Frondeurs, became extremely popular with the Parisian populace, and was called the king of the markets. He killed his brother-in-law, the duke of Nemours, in a duel, and at the same time one of his seconds, Hericourt, was killed by the marquis de Vil-lars, a second of Nemours. Becoming" tired of civil war, he made his peace with the court; and, Louis XIV. having taken into his hands the reins of government, Beaufort was appointed to the command of the navy.

In 1664 and 1665 he successfully led attacks against the corsairs of Africa; in 1666 he was at the head of the fleet which was to join the Dutch in the war against England; and in 1669 he went to the assistance of the Venetians, then besieged by the Turks in the island of Candia, where he was killed in a sally.