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Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French playwright and arms dealer. He was born in 1732 at Paris and died in 1799. Best remembered for his plays 'The Barber of Seville' and 'The Marriage of Figaro'. He was the son of a watchmaker named Caron, whose trade he practised for a time. He early gave striking proofs of his mechanical and also of his musical talents; he attained proficiency as a player on the guitar and harp, and was appointed harp-master to the daughters of Louis XV. By a rich marriage (after which he added ' de Beaumarchais' to his name) he laid the foundation of the immense wealth which he afterwards accumulated by his speculations, and which was also increased by a second marriage.
He is less well known for supplying arms and lending funds to the American colonists in support of their revolution against the British government during the American War of Independence - though following independence the American government never repaid the monies they owed to Pierre de Beaumarchais. During the French Revolution, he again sold arms to the French aristocracy, was discovered and ironically fled to Holland and England.
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