Karl von Struve (26 November 1835 – 26 June 1907) () (Alternate spelling in U.S.: de Struve) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

Russian nobleman and politician. He served, in turn, as Russian Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Early life and marriage

Struve was born in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

in 1835, the son of

Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (, trans. ''Vasily Yakovlevich Struve''; 15 April 1793 – ) was a Baltic German astronomer and geodesist. He is best known for studying double stars and initiating a triangulation survey later named Struve ...

(1793–1864) and his second wife, Johanna H.F. Bartels. His father was a native of

Altona Altona may refer to: Places Australia * Altona Beach, in Altona, Victoria, Australia * Altona Meadows, Victoria, Australia * Altona North, Victoria, Australia * Altona, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia ** Altona railway station ** Al ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, who emigrated in 1808 to avoid conscription in the Napoleonic armies, going first to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and then

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 ...

. The elder Struve was appointed professor of astronomy and mathematics at the

University of Dorpat The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a 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.

(now Tartu) in 1813 and director of the Dorpat Observatory in 1817. In 1835, the year of Karl's birth, he was asked by

Tsar Nicholas I Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

to supervise construction of the Pulkovo Observatory, of which he was director from 1839 to 1862. Karl von Struve was a half-brother of the astronomer

Otto Wilhelm von Struve Otto Wilhelm von Struve (May 7, 1819 (Julian calendar: April 25) – April 14, 1905) was a Russian astronomer of Baltic German origins. In Russian, his name is normally given as Otto Vasil'evich Struve (Отто Васильевич Струве). ...

(1819–1905) and the politician (1827-1889), Imperial Privy Councilor and Governor of

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places * Perm, Russia, a city in Russia **Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 ** Perm Governorate, an administr ...

and

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 ...

. He was a grand-uncle of

Otto Struve Otto Lyudvigovich Struve (; 12 August 1897 – 6 April 1963) was a Russian-American astronomer of Baltic German origin. Otto was the descendant of famous astronomers of the Struve family; he was the son of Ludwig Struve, grandson of Otto Wilhel ...

(1897–1963), the Russian-born director of the Yerkes, McDonald and Leuschner observatories in the United States.V. K. Abalakin ''et al.'
Struve dynasty
(in Russian), St. Petersburg University He married Maria Nicolaevna Annenkova, daughter of General

Nicholas Annenkov General Nicholas Nikolaievich Annenkov (Николай Николаевич Анненков) (December 1799 in Sergachsky Uyezd, Nizhny Novgorod Governorate – 25 November 1865 in St. Petersburg, Russia) was an influential Russian General of t ...

and sister of

General Michael Nicolaivitch Annenkoff General Mikhail Nikolayevich Annenkov (formerly also transcribed Michael Nicolaivitch Annenkoff; ; 1835 in St. Petersburg – January 21, 1899 in St. Petersburg) was a Russian nobleman, author, military officer, and engineer. An important fi ...

, Elizabeth, princess Galitzine, and Alexandra, Vicomtesse de Vogüé. The Struves were the parents of five children: * Boris de Struve – served as Russian military attache in Washington and married Eleanor Slater, from a prominent New England family, and had issue: **A) Boris de Struve Jr. **B) Elena de Struve * – married Prince Peter N. Meschersky and ran a prominent finishing school in Paris. She also served as a trustee of the Russian Red Cross and later managed a retirement home for White Russian emigres. Had issue: **A) Marina, Princess Mescherskaya, married 1) Count Michael Vorontsov-Dashkoff and 2) Count Ivan Shuvaloff **B) Nikita, Prince Meschersky **C) Kirill, Prince Meschersky **D) Nikolai, Prince Meschersky **E) Maria, Princess Mescherskaya *

Olga de Struve Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia, ...

– married champagne heir Baron

Peter Arnold Hermann Gottlieb Mumm von Schwarzenstein Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and had issue: **A) Elena Mumm Thornton Wilson **B) Olga Mumm, racing manager for Whitney heiress

Dorothy Paget Dorothy Wyndham Paget (21 February 1905 – 9 February 1960) was a British racehorse owner and sponsor of motor racing. Early life Paget was the daughter of Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough, Lord Queenborough and Pauline Payne Whitney of ...

**C) Baron Godefroy Hermann von Mumm ("Brat"), manager of

Mumm G. H. Mumm & Cie is a List of Champagne houses, Champagne house founded in 1827 and based in Reims, Reims, France. G.H. Mumm is one of the largest Champagne houses and is currently ranked 4th globally based on number of bottles sold. The company ...

family vineyards, married Madeleine Allen de Casabonne and had issue: ***a) Maria Magdalene Mumm married to Count Johan-Christian von Hatzfeldt-Doenhoff, and had issue: ****a1) Countess Maria Magdalena von Hatzfeldt- Doenhoff married Luca Trabattoni and had issue. ****a2) Countess Maria-Christiane von Hatzfeldt-Doenhoff married Archduke Andreas-Augustinus von Habsburg-Lothringen and had issue. **D) Kirill Mumm * Elena de Struve – married 1) Hendrik, 2nd Baron Steengracht von Moyland; and 2) Count . * Maria de Struve – married Major General Georg Ivanovitch Chevitch and had issue: **A) Maria Georgievna Chevitch married to Nicholas Petrovich Balachov and had issue. **B) Ivan Chevitch **C) Kirill Chevitch (Elder Sergius)

Diplomatic career

Struve's first posting as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary was to Tokyo, capital of the Japanese Empire, which under the

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

was undergoing a rapid Westernization of its government, industry and military. In 1882, Struve was posted as Minister to the United States. Struve and his wife were noted Washington society habitués, holding soirees and a Sunday salon for Washington's diplomatic and political elite. Their residence in Washington was in Farragut Square, near the home of

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American attorney, industrialist, philanthropist, and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from Watervliet, New York. He served as the eighth governor of Calif ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. From 1882 to 1892, a variety of powerful men and women passed through the Struves' door: the

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

Henry Brooks Adams Henry Brooks Adams (February 16, 1838 – March 27, 1918) was an American historian and a member of the Adams political family, descended from two U.S. presidents. As a young Harvard graduate, he served as secretary to his father, Charles Franc ...

James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the United States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as speaker of the U.S. House of Rep ...

, Leland Stanford, and many others. The Struves were also noted collectors, donating ethnological prints of Russians to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Annual Report, Smithsonian Institution, 1893 and a vast teapot collection (more than 900) to various European collectors. In line with German practice, he was entitled to use the title of Baron von Struve while abroad, though this was denied him while resident in Germany or Russia. The American press generally rendered his title and name as Baron de Struve. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1892, Struve received his final diplomatic posting in 1893 when he was sent as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Netherlands. Karl von Struve died in 1907.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Struve, Karl Von 1835 births 1907 deaths Politicians from Tartu People from Kreis Dorpat

Karl Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cac ...

Annenkov family Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Nobility from the Russian Empire Politicians from the Russian Empire Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the Netherlands Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the United States Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to Japan Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun