Count Christoph Johann Friedrich von Medem (''Jeannot Medem''; 1763–1838) was a

nobleman 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

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

in the courts of

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

kings

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

, Frederick William II and Emperor of

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 ...

Paul I. His sisters were poet Elisa von der Recke and last Duchess of Courland, Dorothea von Medem.

Early life

Christoph Johan von Medem was born in the Mežotne manor,

Semigallia Semigallia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located to the south of the Daugava and to the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. The territory is split between Latvia and Lithuania, previously inhabited by the Semigallian Baltic tri ...

on 13 August 1763. He was the son of a well known landlord and

Reichsgraf Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly (Imperial immediacy, immediately) from the emperor, rather th ...

Johann Friedrich von Medem and his second wife Luise Charlotte von Manteuffel. He had a good education and with help from his father he became a courtier in the court of the Friedrich the Great.

Career

Christoph Johann von Medem also served in Prussian army. After

death in 1786 he became aide of his son

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was also the prince-elector of Brandenburg and (through the Orange-Nassau inheritance of his grandfather) sovereign princ ...

. Later after his patron's death in 1797 he moved to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

in the service of

Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...

. He was his chamberlain and also served as ambassador in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

in 1796–1808. As

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the General

Nikolay Raevsky Nikolay Nikolayevich Raevsky or Rayevsky (; — ) was a Russian general and statesman who achieved fame for his feats of arms during the Napoleonic Wars. His family left a lasting legacy in Russian society and culture. Early life Nikolay Rae ...

Medem acquired on September 6, 1813, during the

German Campaign of 1813 The German campaign () was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany against the French Emperor Napoleon, his marshals, and th ...

the Order ''

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

''.

Later life

After retirement he returned to Semigallia (where he owned several manors) and turned to

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. He married Mary Luise, a daughter of Count Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen. Their residences included :lv:Villa Medem in Mitau and the Durbe Manor near

Tukums Tukums (; ; ) is a town in Latvia and serves as the administrative center of Tukums Municipality. It is located in the eastern part of the historical region of Courland, and with more than 16,000 inhabitants Tukums is the 13th largest settlem ...

. Christoph Johann von Medem died in Mitau on 24 February 1838.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medem, Christoph Johann von 1763 births 1838 deaths People from Mežotne People from the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Baltic-German nobility Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the United States Privy Councillor (Russian Empire)