Abel Socin (born 1632 in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, died 1695 in Basel) was a Swiss merchant, politician, law lord (Gerichtsherr) and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

from Basel. He was a member of the Grand Council of Basel and served as the

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of Diplomatic rank#Special envoy, diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an au ...

of the

Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...

to the French court (Swiss ambassador to France) from 1679. In the

Basel Minster Basel Minster (German: ''Basler Münster'') is a religious building in the Switzerland, Swiss city of Basel, originally a Roman Catholic cathedral and today a Continental Reformed church, Reformed Protestant church. The original cathedral was bu ...

there is a Latin inscription in memory of Abel Socin; it recounts his life and praises him for his "innate eloquence and thoughtful wisdom."

Life

He was a member of the noble Italian Socin family, one of Basel's leading families. The Socin (Sozini) family had arrived in Basel in the 16th century from the Italian-speaking Swiss city of

Bellinzona Bellinzona ( , ; ; is a municipality, a List of towns in Switzerland, historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its Three Castles of Bellinzona, three castles (Castelgrande, Montebello, Sa ...

, which had formerly been part of the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti of Milan, Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277. At that time, ...

, and established themselves as wealthy merchants in Italian goods. While resident in Bellinzona in 1551, the family received a confirmation of

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

from the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

. Abel Socin was a brother of burgomaster of Basel Emanuel Socin (1628–1717) and the great-grandfather of

Abel Seyler Abel Seyler (23 August 1730, Liestal – 25 April 1800, Rellingen) was a Swiss-born theatre director and former merchant banker, who was regarded as one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe. He played a pivotal role in the dev ...

, one of the preeminent theatre principals of 18th century Europe, who was named after him. He was married three times; the remains of his second wife Maria Hummel (1635–1681) were discovered in front of the

in 2009, in what was Abel Socin's family grave, along with elaborate jewelry described by archaeologists as masterpieces from the era.Archäologen sprechen von Meisterstücken der Goldschmiedekunst: Grab mit Goldschmuck vor Basler Münster entdeckt
''

Neue Zürcher Zeitung The (''NZZ''; "New Newspaper of Zurich") is German language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zurich. The paper was founded in 1780. It has a reputation as a high-quality newspaper, as the German Swiss newspaper of record ...

'', 19 August 2009

References

Ambassadors of Switzerland to France Businesspeople from Basel-Stadt Swiss merchants Swiss people of Italian descent 1632 births 1695 deaths

Abel Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God in Judaism, God, he ...

Patriciate of Basel Politicians from Basel-Stadt {{Switzerland-diplomat-stub