Henri Alexandre de Catt (25 June 1725–23 November 1795), a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
*Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
*Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
*Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
* Swiss Internation ...
scholar, was from 1758 the private secretary and close confidant of
Frederick the Great
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
. He is often described as the king's "reader" (''Vorleser''), but in fact did not read anything out loud as such, but was engaged principally in correcting Frederick's pronunciation and written expression in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, his preferred language for general purposes. During this time de Catt kept a diary, which since its publication in 1885 has been the source of many episodes of Frederick's life and of things he said.
Biography
De Catt was born in
Morges
Morges (; la, Morgiis, plural, probably ablative, else dative; frp, Môrges) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud and the seat of the district of Morges. It is located on Lake Geneva.
History
Morges is first mentioned in 1288 as ...
in the
canton of Vaud in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. He studied in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
. In 1755 he corresponded with
Laurent Angliviel de la Beaumelle.
In 1755 Frederick made a tour of the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
incognito, in the course of which he had discussions with, among others, the banker
Isaac de Pinto. During a visit to Utrecht he met de Catt, who at this time was tutor to a brother of
Isabelle de Charrière, on a ship and fell into conversation with him. Frederick was so impressed with de Catt that six weeks later he invited him to enter his service.
[MacDonogh, G. (1999) ''Frederick the Great'', p. 241. New York: St. Martin's Griffin] De Catt began his duties in 1758 and remained until 1780, when he fell into disfavour. In 1760 Frederick nominated him to membership of the
Prussian Academy of Sciences. In his last years he was blind. He died in 1795 in
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...
and was buried in the church of
Bornstedt.
Notes and references
Works
* ''Friedrich der Große Gespräche mit Henri de Catt.'' Munich: dtv bibliothek, 1981.
Bibliography
* Hartkopf, W. (1983): ''Die Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR. Ein Beitrag zu ihrer Geschichte. Biografischer Index'', p. 98. Akademie, Berlin
* Koser, R. (ed.), 1884: ''Unterhaltungen mit Friedrich dem Großen: Memoiren und Tagebücher von Heinrich de Catt.'' Reprinted 1965, Osnabrück: Zeller
External links
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