The port of Le Havre was born under the leadership of King Francis I of France in 1517. It constituted one of the very first state ports, created to deal with the silting of the ports of Harfleur and Honfleur. The city then bore the name of Havre-de-Grâce and started its activities as a commercial port before turning into a military port under Richelieu, who made the city wealthy. The peak of Le Havre's fame was reached in the 20th century through the famous transatlantic crossings whose names still live in the memory of many French people: the France, the Île-de-France, the Normandy.