Louis Antoine De Bougainville
Bougainville, Louis Antoine de (1729–1811), a French navigator. He commanded the first French expedition to sail around the world, 1766–69. Bougainville started his career in the army. During the Seven Years' War he served both in Canada and in Europe. In 1763 he resigned from the army to enter the navy.
Bougainville served under Admiral de Grasse in the American Revolution. He was made a rear admiral in 1779 and retired in 1790. A plant (the bougainvillea), one of the Solomon islands, and a strait in those islands are named for Bougainville.