Emmanuel-Louis-Henri de Launay was born on December 25, 1753 at Montpellier, or at Villeneuve-de-Berg, or at Antraigues-sur-Volane.
Famous adventurer and spy during the Consulate and the Emppire, he worked for the Count of Provence (future King Louis XVIII) and Tzar Alexander I of Russia.
He was assassinated on July 22, 1812, at Barnes-Terrace, near London.