François-Rodolphe de Weiss
François-Rodolphe de Weiss (von Weiss, also von Weiß, surname at birth Wyss) (1751–1818) was a Swiss political and military leader, writer and philosopher, a follower of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Life. He was born at Yverdon, son of François Rodolphe, seigneur de Daillens, and Henriette Russillon. He entered the French military service in 1766, and the Prussian in 1777. In 1785 he became a member of the Grand Conseil at Berne. A supporter of the ideas of the French Revolution, de Weiss was sent to Paris as an envoy in 1792, and maintained a peace between  France and the Swiss confederation. In 1794 he attributed the Revolution to ideas emanating from Geneva. In 1798 the Bernese bailiwick at Lucens Castle was ended by a popular uprising, with Weiss defending the castle. Weiss then went into exile, in Germany. He died by suicide at Coppet on 21 July 1818.