Rudolf-August d'Ornano

Count Rodolphe-Auguste Louis Maurice d'Ornano (9 June 1817 – 14 October 1865) was a French aristocrat and politician during the Second French Empire.

Early life Rodolphe-Auguste was born on 9 June 1817 in Liège, Belgium where his parents had settled due to his father's pro-Napoleonic allegiances. He was the only child of Count Philippe Antoine d'Ornano, Marshal of France, and Countess Marie Walewska,

His paternal grandparents were Lodovico Antonio d'Ornano and Isabella Maria Buonaparte (through whom his father was a second cousin of Napoleon). His mother, who was born in Kiernozia, Poland, was a daughter of Count Mathieu Łączyński (starosta of Gostyń) and Eva Zaborowska.

Career At the age of 18, he joined the diplomatic corps of King Louis-Philippe and worked at the French embassies in Dresden and Westminster, but had to leave the diplomatic service because of his ties to his cousin Napoleon III. Following his time in the diplomatic corps, he took up literary work, as well as historical and political journalism. He traveled extensively around Europe, including to Corsica, the birthplace of the Bonapartes and the d'Ornanos.

Personal life On 16 June 1845 Count d'Ornano married Aline Élisabeth, Marquise de Voyer d'Argenson (1826–1899), in Tours, France. She was a daughter of Charles Marc-René de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson, 5th Marquis d'Argenson and Anne-Marie Faure. Together, they had six children: Countess Isabelle Aline d'Ornano (1850–1874), who married Cesar de Carini La Grua Talamanca, 9th Prince of Carini, son of Antonino Francesco La Grua Talamanca e Sabatini, 8th Prince of Carini. Countess Laure Rodolphine-Louise d'Ornano (1852–1928), who married Count Emmanuel de Laugier de Beaurecueil.

Count d'Ornano died on 14 October 1865 in Paris. His widow died at the Château de la Branchoire in Chambray-lès-Tours.