Engelhardt family
Encyclopedia
Engelhardt is a Baltic-German Russian noble
and baronial family. The family name is sometimes given as "von Engelhardt".
, launched to liberate the Holy Sepulchre. During that campaign, he is said to have received the surname Engelhardt ('angelic strength') for saving the life of the French king Philip II Augustus in the Siege of Acre.
The documented origins of the family lie in Switzerland, where Heinrich Engelhardt is mentioned in the years 1383-1390 as a citizen and councillor in Zurich
. In the early fifteenth century, Georg Engelhardt lived in Livonia
. From him stem all the nobles and barons of the (von) Engelhardt family in the Russia Empire.
The first Engelhardt to become a Russian subject was Werner Engelhardt, who had previously served in the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
. He converted to the Russian State religion, accepting Orthodoxy
and taking the baptismal name, Jeremiah. He died before 1672. His son Siegmund (Stepan, upon Orthodox baptism) was a Muscovite noble and stolnik
(personal attendant upon the Tsar) and a lieutenant in the Smolensk gentry. Other sons of Werner (Jeremiah) were Georg (Yuri) and Johann (Ivan), who also served as stolniks.
The noble family of (von) Engelhardt is recorded in Book VI of the genealogy of the province of Smolensk
, and its coat of arms is included in Part VI of the General Armorial. The baronial line of (von) Engelhardt is recorded in Part V of the genealogy books of the provinces of Yaroslava, Ekaterinoslavskaya, and Kursk.
The Engelhardt name has been attached to a scientific institute in Moscow, the observatory of Kazan University, the gold medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences
, the main railway station in Smolensk
, a crater on the moon, an asteroid
, and a star in the constellation Cygnus
.
relations) and bequeathed to them some of his great wealth.
The six Potemkin nieces were:
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
and baronial family. The family name is sometimes given as "von Engelhardt".
History
The legendary founder of the (von) Engelhardt dynasty, Carl Bernhard Engelhardt (1159–1230), served as a knight in the Third CrusadeThird Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
, launched to liberate the Holy Sepulchre. During that campaign, he is said to have received the surname Engelhardt ('angelic strength') for saving the life of the French king Philip II Augustus in the Siege of Acre.
The documented origins of the family lie in Switzerland, where Heinrich Engelhardt is mentioned in the years 1383-1390 as a citizen and councillor in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. In the early fifteenth century, Georg Engelhardt lived in Livonia
Livonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
. From him stem all the nobles and barons of the (von) Engelhardt family in the Russia Empire.
The first Engelhardt to become a Russian subject was Werner Engelhardt, who had previously served in the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. He converted to the Russian State religion, accepting Orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
and taking the baptismal name, Jeremiah. He died before 1672. His son Siegmund (Stepan, upon Orthodox baptism) was a Muscovite noble and stolnik
Stolnik
Stolnik was a court office in Poland and Muscovy, responsible for serving the royal table.- Stolnik in Crown of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania : In Crown of Poland under the first Piast dukes and kings, this was a court office....
(personal attendant upon the Tsar) and a lieutenant in the Smolensk gentry. Other sons of Werner (Jeremiah) were Georg (Yuri) and Johann (Ivan), who also served as stolniks.
The noble family of (von) Engelhardt is recorded in Book VI of the genealogy of the province of Smolensk
Smolensk Oblast
Smolensk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its area is . Population: -Geography:The administrative center of Smolensk Oblast is the city of Smolensk. Other ancient towns include Vyazma and Dorogobuzh....
, and its coat of arms is included in Part VI of the General Armorial. The baronial line of (von) Engelhardt is recorded in Part V of the genealogy books of the provinces of Yaroslava, Ekaterinoslavskaya, and Kursk.
Accomplishments
The house of Engelhardt has produced many distinguished and well known charitable works - the building of churches and hospitals, large donations to universities, public libraries and observatories (including the donation of ancient manuscripts), free land for the construction of railways and other public purposes, and the liberation of serfs.The Engelhardt name has been attached to a scientific institute in Moscow, the observatory of Kazan University, the gold medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
, the main railway station in Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
, a crater on the moon, an asteroid
4217 Engelhardt
4217 Engelhardt is an asteroid, discovered on January 24, 1988 by Carolyn S. Shoemaker at Palomar Observatory. Its provisional designation was 1988 BO2. It is named after the Baltic German geologist and mineralogist Wolf von Engelhardt ....
, and a star in the constellation Cygnus
Cygnus (constellation)
Cygnus is a northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way. Its name is the Latinized Hellenic word for swan. One of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn, it features a prominent asterism known as the Northern Cross...
.
The Potemkin nieces
Helen, the sister of Gregory Potemkin, was married to Vasily Andreyevich Engelhardt. Their six daughters, being nieces of Potemkin, were imperial favorites and featured prominently in the court of Catherine II and the subsequent reign. Potemkin doted on his nieces (and, it is generally assumed in the case of Barbara, Alexandra, and Catherine, had more than avuncularWiktionary
Wiktionary is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in 158 languages...
relations) and bequeathed to them some of his great wealth.
The six Potemkin nieces were:
- Barbara Engelhardt (1752-1815), who married Prince Sergey Feodorovich GolitsynGalitzineFor Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...
(1749-1810). - Alexandra EngelhardtAleksandra von EngelhardtAleksandra von Engelhardt , also known as Sasjenka and Countess Branicka, was a Russian noble. She was the niece, confidant and likely the lover of Grigory Potyomkin, and the favourite and lady-in-waiting of Catherine the Great....
(1754-1838), who married Count Franciszek Ksawery BranickiFranciszek Ksawery BranickiCount Franciszek Ksawery Branicki was a Polish nobleman of the Korczak coat of arms, magnate and one of the leaders of the Targowica Confederation....
(1730-1819). - Anna Sofia Engelhardt (175?-1820), who married Mikhail Mikhailovich Zhukov (1728-1803), Governor of AstrakhanAstrakhanAstrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
. - Nadejda Engelhardt (1759-1823), whose first marriage in 1775 was to Colonel Pavel Alekseevich Izmailov (d. 1781) and second to Peter Shepelev (1737-1828).
- Catherine EngelhardtYekaterina von EngelhardtYekaterina von Engelhardt was a Russian lady in waiting and noble. She was the niece and lover of Grigory Potyomkin, and the favored lady-in-waiting of Catherine the Great....
(1761-1829), whose first marriage was to Count Paul Martynovich Skavronsky and second to Count Giulio Litta. - Tatiana Engelhardt (1769-1841), whose first marriage was to Count Mikhail Sergeevich Potemkin (1744-1791), her mother's and her uncle's cousin, and second in 1793 to Prince Nikolai Borisovich YusupovNikolai YusupovNikolai Yusupov was a Russian nobleman and art collector of the house of Yusupov. He was the eldest son of Prince Boris Grigorievich Yusupov...
(1750-1831).
Notable Engelhardts
- Alexander Nikolayevich Engelhardt (1832–1893): renowned scholar and agriculturalist.
- Vasily Pavlovich EngelhardtVasily EngelhardtVasily Pavlovich Engelhardt - May 6, 1915, Dresden) was a Russian astronomer and public figure.-Early life:...
(1828–1915): astronomer, and chronicler of Suvorov's Swiss expedition. - Fyodor EngelhardtFyodor EngelhardtFyodor Engelhardt was a Russian Brigadier General and a hero of the storming of Izmail during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792.-Early career:...
(1762-1831), Russian general. - Alexander Bogdanovich EngelhardtAlexander Bogdanovich EngelhardtAlexander Bogdanovich Engelhardt was a Russian baron, lieutenant general, and chief of Russian southern military settlements.Engelhardt was born a member of the noble and baronial Engelhardt family, and part of the nobility of the Courland province .-Military career:On May 27, 1813 he was...
(1795–1859): baron, lieutenant general, chief of southern military settlements. - Valerian EngelhardtValerian EngelhardtValerian Engelhardt was a Russian lieutenant general and director of the Russian Institute of Railway Engineers.-Family:Engelhardt was born into the nobility of Livonia as a member of the Engelhardt family on December 24, 1798, the son of Colonel F. H. Engelhardt.His brother Nicholas Engelhardt...
(1798–1856): general and civil engineer. - William Karpovich Engelhardt (alternately Wilhelm Heinrich Engelhardt or Vasily Karlovich Engelhardt)(1726–1797): general, and Lieutenant Governor of VyborgVyborgVyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, to the northwest of St. Petersburg and south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland...
. - Vasily Vasilyevich (born 1758): officer in the Second Turkish War, senator.
- Nikolai Fedorovich Engelhardt (born 1799), brother of Valerian F. Engelhardt: Lieutenant General, and Commander of the 15th Infantry Division in the Sevastopol campaign of 1854 -55.
- Otto Moritz Ludwig (1778–1842): Professor of Mineralogy at Tartu University.
- Sergey Petrovich Engelhardt (1795–1870) - Governor of MogilevMogilevMogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
. - Baron Gustav Moritz Constantin (1828–1881): professor and Dean of the Theological Faculty of the University of Dorpat.
- Nick CleggNick CleggNicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
, Deputy Prime Minister of the UK and Leader of the Liberal Democrats, whose grandmother was Kira von Engelhardt.