François de Coligny, Count of Coligny and Lord of Châtillon (28 April 1557 – 8 October 1591) was a French Protestant general of the Wars of Religion.
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Early life
Coligny was born on 28 April 1557 at Châtillon-Coligny. He was the son of Admiral Gaspard II de Coligny (1519–1572) and, his first wife, Charlotte de Laval (1530–1568). From his parents' marriage, his siblings were Louise de Coligny (wife of Charles de Téligny and William I of Orange), and Charles de Coligny, Marquis d'Andelot, a Lieutenant General in Champagne. After his mother's death in 1547, his father married Jacqueline de Montbel d'Entremont, the Countess d'Entremont and Launay-Gelin, in 1571. From his father's second marriage, he had a younger half-sister, Béatrice de Coligny, who married Count Claude-Antoine d'Albon de Montauban de Meuillon d'Entremont.
Coligny came of a noble family of Burgundy. His family traced their descent from the 11th century, and in the reign of Louis XI, were in the service of the King of France. His paternal grandparents were Louise de Montmorency (sister of Anne de Montmorency) and Gaspard I de Coligny, known as the 'Marshal of Châtillon', who served in the Italian Wars from 1494 to 1516 and was created Marshal of France in 1516. Among his extended family were uncles Odet de Coligny, and François de Coligny d'Andelot, who both played an important part in the first period of the Wars of Religion.