The House of Engelhardt (; ) is a Baltic-German

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

and baronial family of the former

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The family name is sometimes given as von Engelhardt.

History

The legendary founder of the Engelhardt dynasty, Carl Bernhard von Engelhardt (1159–1230), served as a knight in the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

, which was 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 Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

in the Siege of Acre. The documented origins of the family lie in Switzerland, where Heinrich von Engelhardt is mentioned in the years 1383–1390 as a citizen and councillor in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. In the early fifteenth century, Georg von Engelhardt lived in

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. From him descend all the nobles and barons of the Engelhardt family in the Russian Empire. The first Engelhardt to become a Russian subject was Werner von Engelhardt, who had previously served in the army of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. He converted to the Russian State religion, accepting

Orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

and taking the baptismal name, Yeremey Kasparovich Engelgardt. He died before 1672. His son Sigismund (Stepan, upon Orthodox baptism) was a Muscovite noble and

stolnik Stolnik (, , , , ) was a court office in Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Russia, responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office. It approximately corresponds to English term wikt:pantler, "pantler". S ...

(personal attendant upon the Tsar) and a lieutenant in the Smolensk gentry. Other sons of Werner (Yeremey) were Georg (Yuri) and Johann (Ivan), who also served as stolniks. The noble family of Engelhardt is recorded in Book VI of the genealogy of the province of

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

, and its coat of arms is included in Part VI of the General Armorial. The baronial line of Engelhardt is recorded in Part V of the genealogy books of the provinces of Yaroslava, Ekaterinoslavskaya, and Kursk. While most of the Baltic branches of the family remained predominantly

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and Germanised, the other branches that lived in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

became highly Russified and many family members had since converted to Orthodoxy.

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 Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed dur ...

. 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 Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

, the main railway station in

, a crater on the Moon, an

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

, and a star in the constellation Cygnus.

The Potemkin nieces

Elena Aleksandrovna, the sister of

Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...

, was married to Vasily Andreyevich von Engelhardt. Their six daughters, being nieces of Potemkin, were imperial favorites and featured prominently in the court of

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

and the subsequent reign. Potemkin doted on his nieces (and, it is generally assumed in the case of Barbara, Alexandra, and Catherine, had sexual relations) and bequeathed to them some of his great wealth. The six Potemkin nieces were: * Barbara von Engelhardt (1752–1815), who married Prince Sergey Feodorovich Golitsyn (1749–1810). * Aleksandra von Engelhardt (1754–1838), who married Count Franciszek Ksawery Branicki (1730–1819). *Anna Sofia von Engelhardt (175?–1820), who married Mikhail Mikhailovich Zhukov (1728–1803), Governor of

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

. *Nadejda von Engelhardt (1759–1823), whose first marriage in 1775 was to Colonel Pavel Alekseevich Izmaylov (d. 1781) and second to Peter Shepelev (1737–1828). * Yekaterina von Engelhardt (1761–1829), whose first marriage was to Count Paul Martynovich Skavronsky (1757–1793) and second to Count Giulio Renato Litta (1763–1839). * Tatiana von Engelhardt (1769–1841), whose first marriage was to Count Mikhail Sergeevich

Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...

(1744–1791), her mother's and her

uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an un ...

's cousin, and second in 1793 to Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (1750–1831).

Notable Engelhardts

*William Karpovich Engelhardt (alternately Wilhelm Heinrich Engelhardt or Vasily Karlovich Engelhardt)(1726–1797), general, and Lieutenant Governor of

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

. *Vasily Vasilyevich (born 1758), officer in the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792), senator. * Grigori Engelhardt (1759–1834), Russian general. * Christoph von Engelhardt (1762–1831), Russian general. * Georg von Engelhardt (1775–1862), Russian statesman, editor and author. * Otto Moritz Ludwig von Engelhardt (1778–1842), professor of Mineralogy at

Tartu University The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.Alexander Bogdanovich Engelhardt (1795–1859), baron, Russian lieutenant general, chief of southern military settlements. *Sergey Petrovich Engelhardt (1795–1870), Governor of

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

. * Valerian Engelhardt (1798–1856), general and civil engineer. *Pavel Vasilievich Engelhardt (1798–1849), nobleman, owner of

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

* Nikolai Fedorovich Engelhardt (1799–1856), brother of Valerian F. Engelhardt, Lieutenant General and Commander of the 15th Infantry Division in the Sevastopol campaign of 1854–55. *Baron Gustav Moritz Constantin (1828–1881), professor and Dean of the Theological Faculty of the University of Dorpat. * Vasily Pavlovich Engelhardt (1828–1915), astronomer, and chronicler of Suvorov's Swiss expedition. * Alexander Nikolayevich Engelhardt (1832–1893), renowned scholar and agriculturalist. * Helene von Engelhardt (1850–1910), poet and translator. *

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...

, former Deputy Prime Minister of the UK and former Leader of the Liberal Democrats, whose grandmother, Baroness Kira von Engelhardt (1909–2005), was the niece of Baroness Moura Budberg. * Vladimir Alexandrovich Engelhardt,

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

, academician of the Soviet Academy of Medical Sciences (1944), academician of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1953), founder and the first director of the Institute of Molecular Biology of the

(later renamed the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology in his honor). * Boris Alexandrovich Engelhardt, Russian military figure in the Russo-Japanese War and politician. * Gilmer W. Engelhardt, III, owner of several renowned restaurants known as French Market Bistro and Mansur's in Baton Rouge, LA and Copeland's of New Orleans locations in Alabama.

References

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