Browse

Name Sex Born Died Nationality Occupation Authorities Note
Abdul Hamid I
male 1725 1789 Ottoman Sultan of the Ottoman Empire 1774 to 1789 WD / VIAF
Muhammad ben Abdelmalek
male Ambassador of Morocco to Russia. See P.H. Roberts, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 143, n.2 (June 1999), p.233
Abdülkerim Pasha
male 1789 The Beylerbey of Rumelia, Abdülkerim Pasha, travelled to Russia in 1775 as a special envoy from the Ottoman Empire.
Abu'l Ghazi Khan khan of Bukhara
male 1795/1796
Achilles
male
Jeanne Thérèse Tellez d'Acosta Marquise de Rochambeau
female 1730 1824
Vasilii Evdokimovich Adodurov
male 1709 1780
Louise Marie Adélaïde Eugénie d'Orléans
female 1777 1847 French princess, daughter of Philippe d'Orléans
Adolf Frederick
male 14 May 1710 12 February 1771 Swedish King of Sweden VIAF
Franz Aepinus
male 1724 1802 German mathematician and philosopher
Agamemnon King
male
Aga Mehemet-Khan
male
Henri-Cardin-Jean-Baptiste d'Aguesseau
male 1752 1826
Sir Robert Ainslie
male 1729/30 21 July 1812 (NS), Bath, England British Diplomat / Numismatist WD / VIAF
Albert V/II Duke of Austria/king of the Holy Roman Empire
male 1397 1439
Albertina Frederica Margravine of Baden-Durlach
female 1682 1755 Catherine's maternal grandmother
Francesco Borghese Aldobrandini
male
AlexanderPavlovich (EmperorAlexanderI)
male 12 December 1777 (OS), Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire 19 November 1825 (OS), Taganrog, Russian Empire Russian Grand Duke of Russia / Emperor of Russia VIAF
Aleksandra Pavlovna
female 29 July 1783 (OS), Pavlovsk, Russian Empire 4 March 1801 (OS), Budapest, Hungary Russian Grand Duchess of Russia / Archduchess of Austria VIAF
Petr Alekseevich Alekseev
male 1727, Moscow, Russian Empire 22 July 1801 (OS), Moscow, Russian Empire Russian Russian Orthodox Clergyman / Russian Orthodox Theologian VIAF Denouncer of Platon, Metropolitan of Moscow and of Freemasons, including Nikolai Novikov in the latter part of Catherine's reign.
Alexander the Great
male 356 BC 323 BC King VIAF King of Macedonia whose name came to stand for the archetypal conqueror. A much disputed figure in the Enlightenment, which questioned the worth of conquest for mere territorial gain and insisted that only conquests that brought prosperity to the conquered could be justified.
Panaioti Pavlovich Aleksiano
male 1788 Greek WD Played a key role in the victory in Lyman
Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert
male 1717 1783
Alexandre Monsieur
male Character in Chapter 9 of Voltaire's "L'Ingénu." Named after Claude François Alexandre (1637-1710), "premier commis" of Gilbert Colbert de Saint-Pouange (1642-1706), commis de la Guerre. See Catherine II de Russie and Friedrich Melchior Grimm, Une correspondance privée, artistique et politique au siècle des Lumières, ed. Sergueï Karp, vol. 1, p. 120.
Alexander Duke of Württemberg
male 1771 1833
Christian Friedrich Carl Alexander Last margrave of Bayreuth and Ansbach
male 1736 1806
Alexeyef
male courier
Alexander Ferdinand 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis
male 1704 1773
Aleksandr Aleksiano
male
Illarion Spiridonovich Alekseev
male 1744 1798
Alfred King of the West Saxons the Great
male 848 899
Francesco Algarotti
male 1712 1764
Algirdas Grand duke of Lithuania
male 1296 1377
Frederick Alleman/Alaman
male Doctor Court doctor to Grand Duchess Natal'ia Alekseevna.
Friederike AmalieMargravine of Baden (née princess of Hesse-Darmstadt)
female 1754 1832 Margravine / German Princess WD / VIAF Travelled to St. Petersburg in 1773 with her mother, Landgravine Karoline of Hesse-Darmstadt, and her two sisters as a potential bride for Catherine's son Paul. Her younger sister Wilhelmine was chosen and became Paul's wife, Grand Duchess Natal'ia Alekseevna. Amalie married Karl Ludwig von Baden in 1774.
Ambrose (Andrei) Zertis-Kamenskii Archbishop of Moscow
male 1708 1771
Anna Amalia dowager duchess of Saxe-Weimar
female 1739 1807
Amelia Princess of the United Kingdom
female 1783 1810
Harriet Maria Harris (née Amyand) Countess of Malmesbury
female 1761 1830 wife of Sir James Howard Harris
Jacob Johan Anckarström Count
male 1762 1792 Swedish military officer who assassinated King Gustav III
Fedor Evstaf'evich Anhalt
male 1732 1794 Prussian / Russian General (2nd Rank) WD / VIAF Son of prince Wilhelm Gustav von Anhalt-Dessau.
Johanna Elisabeth Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst (née of Holstein-Gottorp)
female 1712 1760 Mother of Catherine II
Anna Pavlovna Grand Duchess of Russia
female 1795 1865 Catherine's grand-daughter, later queen of the Netherlands
Anna Fedorovna Grand Duchess of Russia
female 1781 1860 Born Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld; Catherine refers to her as Julie
Anna Elisabeth Louise Princess and Margravine of Brandenburg-Schwedt
female 1738 1820
George Anson Admiral
male 1697 1762 circumnavigated the globe and became head of the British navy during the Seven Years War.
Francisco Antonio comte de Lacy
male 1731 1792 Minister plenipotentiary of Spain in St Petersburg
Ivan VI Antonovich emperor of Russia
male 1740 1764
Anthony King of Saxony
male 1755 1836
Antoinette Duchess of Württemberg (née of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld)
female 1779 1824
Apollo
male Greek God of Light, Healing and Poetry
Petr Fedorovich Apraksin
male 1728 1811 Russian Graf (count) VIAF
Fedor Matveevich Apraksin
male 1765 1796 Russian VIAF
Stepan Stepanovich Apraksin General
male 1702 1758
Timofei Aprelev Lieutenant-colonel Тимофей Апрелев
male
Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea y Jiménez de Urrea Count d'Aranda
male 1718 1798
Giovanni Andrea Archetti
male 1731 1805 Italian VIAF
Johann Arf Rear-admiral Иван Николаевич Арф
male Dutch
Nikolai Petrovich Arkharov
male 7 May 1740 (OS) January 1814 (OS) Russian General (2nd Rank) / Officer / Moscow Chief of Police VIAF
Count Gustav Moritz Armfelt
male 31 March 1757 (NS) 19 August 1814 (NS) Swedish Officer / Diplomat VIAF One of Gustav III of Sweden's most trusted advisors, in 1792 the dying king appointed Armfelt as one of his young son's guardians, but he was deeply disliked by the regent, Charles of Sudermanland. Armfelt tried to convince Catherine to help him chase the regent from power, for which he was condemned to death in Sweden. He took refuge in Russia from 1794 until 1797, and Catherine refused to extradite him to Sweden even though it was made a condition for the marriage between her granddaughter Aleksandra and King Gustav IV of Sweden, a match she very much desired.
Ivan Fedorovich Ash (von Asch) Baron
male 1726 1807
Achatz Ferdinand von der Asseburg Baron
male 1721 1797 German diplomat in St Petersburg
Attila the Hun
male Hunnic ruler
Charles-Louis Aubry
male 1746 1817
Mademoiselle Audet
female Unknown woman whom the Countess Stroganova brought with her to Petersburg
Jean-Michel Auda
male 1773 Frenchman from Nice who tried to get d'Alembert to tutor Paul I
Jean Rival (called Aufresne)
male 1728 1804 Director of the Hermitage Theater
Auguste Karoline, princess of Württemberg, née of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel
female 3 December 1764 (NS) 27 September 1788 (NS) German Princess VIAF Abused by her husband, Friedrich Wilhelm Karl von Württemberg, Zelmira sought the protection of Catherine the Great, who chased Friedrich from Russian service, sent him back to Germany, and entrusted Zelmira to Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann in Lodhe, Estland. She soon died in childbirth, however, presumbly bearing Pohlmann's child and denied medical assistance to avoid a scandal.
Augusta, princess of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel
female 1737 1813 Duchess (German) VIAF Daughter of Frederick, prince of Wales (1707-1751, son of King George II of Great Britain). Her seven children included Auguste Karoline von Württemberg and the future Queen Caroline, wife of George IV.
AugustusIII, King of Poland
male 17 October 1696, Dresden 05 October 1763, Dresden VIAF
Augustus Prince of Saxe Gotha Altenbourg
male 1747 1806 friend of Voltaire, enlightenment figure
Augusta Sophia Princess
female 1768 1840 Second daughter of King George III
Augustus Ferdinand Prince of Prussia
male 1730 1813
Augusta Caroline Sophie Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (née Countess Reuss zu Ebersdorf)
female 1757 1831
Augard Chevalier
male
Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche
male 1722 1769 French astronomer
Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne
male 1728 1792
Francisque Azor
male Later goes by Grigorii Aleksandrovich Gvadelupskii
Bacchus
male 1791 courier frequently used to bring things to/from Catherine and Grimm
Théobald Bacher
male 1748 1813 Chargé d'affaires of the French Republic in Switzerland and then to the Holy Roman Empire. In 1806, he presented to the Imperial Diet Napoleon's note dissolving the Holy Roman Empire.
Bachmann
male Banker in Petersburg who helped Catherine procure some paintings from Berlin
Baht Giray I
male Led the Buçak Tatars against the Russians in 1787-1791
Jean Sylvain Bailly
male 1736 1793 Astronomer / Writer / Freemason / WD / VIAF
Anton Bogdanovich De Bal'men
male 1741 1790 Russian / General (2nd Rank) / Governor WD Participant of the First Russo-Turkish war. Governor of the Orel and Kursk regions. During the 2nd Russo-Turkish war was in charge of the troops in the Caucasus where he died of consumption.
Balu Mme
female
Balu M.
male Confectioner Grimm hired for the Russian court
Abbé Jean-Jacques Barthélemy
male 20 January 1716 (NS), Cassis 30 April 1795 (NS) Writer / Philologist / Numismatist WD / VIAF
Ivan Sergeevich Bariatinskii
male 27 February 1738 (NS) 23 December 1811 (NS) Russian / Diplomat / Lieutenant General (3rd Rank) WD / VIAF
Johann Georg Barmann
male Cook at Catherine's court
Pietro Santi Bartoli
male 1635 1700 Italian engraver
Barko Baron General
male Austrian An agent of Joseph II at Russian headquarters in Moldavia under Rumyantsev's command.
François-Jean de la Barre
male 1745 1766
Pierre-Martin Barat
male 1736 1787 Artist
Barral
male Banker
Petr Iakovlevich Baskakov
male Сaptain in the Preobrazhensky regiment
Bazile
male Character in Beaumarchais' <i>Le Barbier de Séville</i>
Ivan IV (the Terrible) Vasil'evich Tsar
male 1530 1584
Baschlofski
male courrier used by Catherine and Grimm starting in 1785
Friedrich Wilhelm Bauer
male 4 January 1734 (NS), Bieber bei Hanau 15 February 1783 (NS), St. Petersburg Officer / Engineer WD / VIAF
Nicolas Baudeau
male 1730 1795 French economist
Louis Cesar de la Baume-le-Blanc Duc de la Vallière
male 1708 1780
Pierre Antoine Baudouin
male 1729 1769 French painter
Christoph Baumgart
male Catherine II's surgeon
Mathieu Nicolas de Bausset Marquis
male 1724 1767 French ambassador to the Russian court who died in Russia
Karl Friedrich Bauer
male 1762 1812 Son of Friedrich Wilhelm Bauer; fought in Russo-Swedish war
William Baylies
male baptised 25 March 1722, Evesham, Worcestershire, United Kingdom 2 March 1787, Berlin, Prussia British Doctor WD / VIAF Author of Remarks on Dr Perry's Analysis of the Stratford Mineral Waters (1745), A narrative of facts demonstrating the existence and course of a physical confederacy, made known in the printed letters of Dr Lucas and Dr Oliver (1757), Practical Reflections on the Uses and Abuses of Bath Waters (1757), A History of the General Hospital at Bath (1758), Aphorisms on the Smallpox (1768, in German in 1775), Facts and Observations Relative to Inoculation at Berlin (1781, in French in 1776).
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais
male 24 January 1732 18 May 1799 French Playwright VIAF Most famous as the author of the Figaro trilogy ('Le Barbier de Séville', 'Le Mariage de Figaro', and 'La Mère coupable').
Geneviève Brossard de Beaulieu
female 1755 1832 French painter
Cesare Bonesana-Beccaria
male 15 March 1738 (NS) 28 November 1794 (NS) Italian Writer / Philosopher / Lawyer VIAF
Nikolai Ivanovich Bekov
male Collegiate assessor
Nikita Afanas'evich Beketov
male 1729 1794
Andrei Mikhailovich Belosel'skii-Belozerskii
male c.1730 1778 or 1779 Russian Prince (Russia) / Diplomat Russian ambassador to Saxony, based in Dresden. At his death he was replaced in Dresden by his famous half-brother, the Francophone author Aleksandr Mikhailovich Beloselsky-Belozersky.
Efim Belich
male Montenegrin lieutenant
Belus (Jupiter Belus)
male Babylonian god
Henri de Belsunce Chevalier
male 1765 1789 Emilie de Belsunce (du Bueil)'s brother
Jean-Antoine de Belsunce
male 1766 1796 Second brother of Emilie de Belsunce (du Bueil)
Gédéon Benoît
male WD / VIAF Secretary then councillor of the Prussian legation in Poland, 1752-1776; participated in arranging the election of Stanislas Poniatowski as king in 1764.
Jan Benisławski
male 1735 1812 Jesuit priest
Anton Ionovich Bering
male 1763 1807 Officer / Member of the Horse Guards Grandson of the famous explorer Vitus Jonassen Bering. Anton's father was Vitus's eldest son, Jonas, born in 1721. Jonas was a colonel in the Russian army and commandant in Ukraine, before he was murdered in 1784. Wachtmeister/sergeant (вахмистр) in the Horse Guards who brought news of the victory at Focșani to St. Petersburg. For this mission he was promoted, at Potemkin's request, to Rittmeister/captain (ротмистр).
Vitus Jonassen Bering
male 5 August 1681 (baptised), Horsens, Denmark 8 December 1741 (OS), Bering Island Danish Explorer / Naval Officer WD / VIAF Danish sea captain and explorer who led two expeditions to chart the Northern Pacific for Russia. Immortalised in the name of the Bering Strait. His sons entered the Russian service, and several of his descendants remained in Russia.
François-Joachim de Pierre Cardinal de Bernis
male 1715 1794
Marie-Jeanne (Rose) Bertin
female 1714 1813 Fashion designer in Paris ,Milliner to Marie Antoinette
Jean Bertin
male Chef at the Russian court in the service of Potemkin
Maksim Vasil’evich Berg
male 1720 1784 Baltic German general who participated in Empress Elizabeth’s Russo-Swedish War (1741–3), fought in the Seven Years War, and became one of the leading officers responsible for occupying Crimea in 1771.
René Berthelot
male 1664 French actor in time of Moliere, known as Du Park and Gros René
Friedrich Justin Bertuch
male 1747 1822 German publisher; published Bilderbuch for children
Bertha Saint, queen of Kent
female c. 565 c. 601
Aleksei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Riumin
male 22 May 1693 (OS) 10 April 1768 (OS) Russian Chancellor (1st Rank) WD / VIAF Chancellor of the Russian Empire under Empress Elizabeth. His fall from grace in 1758 almost brought about Catherine's expulsion from Russia. Inventor of Catherine's beloved 'Bestuzhev Drops', also known as 'gold elixir', which was a popular eighteenth-century remedy.
Ivan Ivanovich Betskoi
male 1704 1795 Educationalist, adviser to Catherine, President of the Academy of Imperial Arts
Count Aleksandr Andreevich Bezborodko
male 14 March 1747 (OS), Glukhov, Russian Empire 6 April 1799 (OS) Russian Senator / Writer / Count (Russian) WD / VIAF Wrote up to 14,572 documents signed by Catherine, as well as 9,651 letters of his own on behalf of the empress. Composes the imperial manifestos from 1776 to 1792; 387 imennye ukazy to the Senate were written in his hand. Supporter of her 'Greek Project'. Catherine referred to him as her 'factotum'. Author of a few historical works (a sketch of Russia's wars and affairs with the Tatars, a chronicle of Malorussia, and a chronological table of Catherine's reign).
Aleksandr Il'ich Bibikov
male 30 May 1729 (OS), Moscow, Russian Empire 9 April 1774 (OS), Bugulma, Russian Empire Russian General (2nd Rank) / Senator / Member of the Izmailovskii Guards Regiment / Translator WD / VIAF
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bibikov
male 7 January 1765 (OS) 20 July 1822, Dresden Officer / Senator / Member of the Preobrazhenskii Guards Regiment WD / VIAF Son of General Aleksandr Il'ich Bibikov and brother of Agrafena Aleksandrovna de Ribaupierre. After Catherine's death, served as a diplomat and military comander under under Paul I and Alexander I. Published the Zapiski o zhizni i sluzhbe Aleksandra Il'icha Bibikova containing the history of and many documents from his father's service career.
Giuseppe Galli da Bibiena
male 1695 1757 Italian designer and architect
Carlo Galli da Bibiena
male 1721 1787 Italian theatre/scene painter
Johanna Dorothea Bielke
female c. 1708 2 January 1780 (NS) German nobility / German noble Born baroness von Grothusen. Name also spelled Bielcke or Bjelke. Friend from childhood of Catherine's mother, Princess Joahanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. Met Catherine during the latter's childhood visits to Hamburg. She initiated an epistolary exchange with Catherine, writing on 5 July 1765 (NS) to remind the empress of their earlier acquaintance. Catherine responded favourably, eventually requesting assistance in finding a governess for her ladies-in-waiting and using her letters to Bielke as a means of sending positive political messages and news about Russia to Hamburg.
Jakob Friedrich von Bielfeld
male 1717 1770
Joseph Billings
male 1758 1806 Explorer and leader of a Russian naval survey of the ocean areas between Siberia and America
Peter von Biron
male 15 February 1724 (NS) 13 January 1800 German / Russian Duke (German) VIAF Peter von Biron inherited the duchy of Courland from his father, Empress Anna's favourite Ernst von Biron, who was restored to the post by Catherine upon her accession.
Ernst Johann von Biron
male 13 November 1690 (OS) 18 December 1772 (OS) Baltic German Duke of Courland VIAF Favourite of Empress Anna Ioannovna.
Charles de Gontaut duc and marechal de Biron
male 1562 1602 French soldier who plotted to set himself up as a rule of independent Burgundy; Catherine II had a portrait of him
William Blackstone
male 1723 1780 Influential jurist, legal thinker
Blaise Maitre
male Character in Marivaux's <i>L'Épreuve</i>
Blandow
male Gentleman from Pomerania expected by Catherine II
Count Aleksei Grigor'evich Bobrinskii
male 11 April 1762 (OS), Winter Palace, St. Petersburg 20 June 1813, Bogoroditsk, Tula Province, Russian Empire Russian Count (Russian) / Member of the Horse Guards VIAF Catherine's illegitimate son by Grigorii Grigor'evich Orlov. His surname comes from the village of Bobriki, purchased by Catherine in 1763 to support her son.
Bock Baron de
male From Livo
Charles Auguste Boehmer
male 1740 1794 Jeweler; part of the duo that created the necklace in the Queen's Necklace affair
Charlotte Boehmer (née Mentzel)
female Mother-in-law of Marie-Daniel Bourrée de Corberon; see note 46 in http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus16/Corberon_2/text2.phtml?id=2398
Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux
male French Poet / Writer VIAF
Jacqueline de Damas (née du Bois d'Aizy)
female
de Boisgelin
female sister of the archbishop of Aix-en-Provence
Anne Boleyn Wife of Henry VIII, Queen
female 1501 1536
Ivan Nikititch Boltin
male 1735 1792 Historian and member of the Russian Academy
Marc Marie Marquis de Bombelles
male 1744 1822
Caterina Bonafini
female 1751 1826 Italian soprano
Bonnet
male Butler, worked for Potemkin and then Catherine II
Baron von Bork
male Diplomat Prussian envoy to Copenhagen in 1789
Ivan Antonovich Borisov Admiral
male 1719 1786
Jean-Benjamin de la Borde
male 1734 1794 composer
Michel-Jean Borch Count
male 1751 1810
Jean-Joseph de la Borde Marquis
male 1724 1794 French politician and banker to the king; guillotined
Nikolai Vladimirovich Borzov
male
Bossetova
female 1767?
Marie Daniel Bourrée chevalier de Corberon
male 1748 1810
Mariia Romanovna Buturlina (née Vorontsova)
female 1737 1779 Lady-in-waiting for Catherine II
Stanislas Jean de Boufflers chevalier de Boufflers
male 1738 1815
François Claude Amour Marquis de Bouillé
male 1739 1800 French general, served in Seven Years' War, organized the Flight to Varennes
Jean-Baptiste de Boyer Marquis d'Argens
male 1704 1771
John Boydell
male 1720 1804 British publisher who established a Shakespeare Gallery and published an illustrated edition of Shakespeare's works
Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
male 1731 1819 Polish / Diplomat / Hetman / General (2nd Rank) WD / VIAF
Aleksandra Vasil'evna Branitskaia, née Engelhardt
female 1754 1838 Russian Countess (Russian) VIAF Grigorii Potemkin's niece
Count Jan Klemens Branicki
male 21 September 1689 (NS) 9 October 1771 (NS) Polish Polish Count VIAF Great Crown Hetman from 1752, and a rival candidate for the Polish crown in the election won by Stanislas Poniatowski.
Eric Brahe
male 1722 1756 Swedish / VIAF
Don João Carlos de Bragança 2nd Duke of Lafões
male 1719 1806 Portuguese politician and founder of the academy of sciences in Lisbon
Khristian Ermolaevich Brazinskii
male 1786 Catherine II's valet
Gerrit Braamcamp
male 1699 1771 Dutch collector
Iakov Larionovich von Brandt
male 1774
Élisabeth-Théodose Le Tonnelier de Breteuil Abbé
male 1712 1781 Brother of Mme Du Chatelet
Louis Auguste Le Tonnelier de Breteuil
male 1730 1807 Diplomat and French politician
Jacques Laure Le Tonnelier de Breteuil
male 1725 1785 Ambassador to Malta
Ludovico Giuseppe Arborio Gattinara Count of Sartirana, marquis of Breme
male 1754 1828
Briseis
female Mythological figure in Homer; Also called Hippodameia
Mathurin Jacques Brisson
male 1723 1806 French zoologist and natural philosopher
Adam Ivanovich Brill
male 1719 1786
Ivan Fedorovich Brink
male
George Browne
male 15 June 1698 (OS) 18 September 1792 (OS) Russian / Irish Count (Russian) VIAF
Charles Francois Broglie marquis de Ruffec
male 1719 1781 French general and diplomat under Louis XV
Brosine (Brozine)
male courrier
Richard Brompton
male 1734 1782 English portrait painter
Victor François 2nd duc de Broglie
male 1718 1704
Iakov Aleksandrovich Brius
male 1731 30 November 1791 (OS) Russian General (2nd Rank) VIAF Praskov'ia Aleksandrovna Rumiantseva was favoured by CatherineCorresponded with Catherine and, at her request, investigated how the law of God was taught in Moscow schools.
Ekaterina Iakovlevna Brius
female 1775/1776 1829 Russian Countess (Russian) Daughter of Count Yakov Aleksandrovich Bruce. Catherine suggested Ekaterina Bruce, 'la plus riche héritière de l'Empire' ('the richest heiress in the Empire'), as an eligible match for her outgoing favourite, Aleksandr Matveevich Dmitriev-Mamonov, but he married Princess Darya Fedorovna Shcherbatova. Ekaterina Bruce married Valentin Valentinovich Musin-Pushkin instead.
Praskov'iaAleksandrovnaBrius, née Rumiantseva
female 7 October 1729 (OS) 7 April 1786 (OS) Russian Countess (Russian) WD Sister of Field-Marshal Petr Aleksandrovich Rumiantsev, wife of Yakov Aleksandrovich Bruce, mother of Ekaterina Yakovlevna Bruce, close friend of Catherine.
Brunswick-Bevern
male
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
female 1755 1842 French portrait painter
Bukovalo
male Albanian Maybe Greek. Referenced from letter 02853
Mikhail Vlas'evich Budlianskii Privy Councillor
male 1790 Awarded the Order of St Anne
Andreas Eberhard von Budberg
male 1750 1812 Baltic German diplomat, tutor to Alexander I
Emilie de Bueil, née de Belsunce
female 1768 1814 French French nobility Granddaughter of Louise d'Epinay, she was the eponymous 'Emilie' in her grandmother's famous educational manual, Conversations d'Emilie. D'Epinay's closest friend, Friedrich Melchior Grimm, became a sort of adoptive grandfather to Emilie, looking after her and her children through the difficult years of the French Revolution and beyond. Catherine was godmother to her daughter, Catherine-Hélène-Alexandrine (Katinka).
Alexandre Louis Auguste du Roux de Chevrier Count de Bueil
male 1762 Military officer; husband of Emilie de Belsunce
Georges-Louis-Marie Leclerc de Buffon
male 22 May 1764 (NS) 10 July 1794 (NS) French Officer WD Son of the well-known naturalist and writer, Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc comte de Buffon
male 7 September 1707 (NS) 16 April 1788 (NS) French Writer / Naturalist WD / VIAF
Karl Iakovlevich Bühler Baron
male 1749 1811 Ambassador
Iakov Ivanovich Bulgakov
male Russian Diplomat VIAF
John Burgoyne General
male 1722 1792 General of the British Army, defeated at Saratoga
Jean Levesque de Burigny
male 1692 1785 French historian
Edmund Burke
male 1729 1797 Politician, philosopher
Busch
male English gardener working for Catherine II
Buscher
male Factotum of the Prince de Ligne
Anton Friedrich Büsching
male 1724 1793 German geographer, historian, and theologian
Busse
male Possible a scholar or teacher of some kind known to Grimm
Petr Aleksandrovich Buturlin Count
male 1734 1787
Aleksandr Borisovich Buturlin Count
male 1694 1767
Ekaterina Borisovna Buturlina (née Kurakina)
female 1703 1772
Frederick Wilhelm Buxhowden Count von Buxhöwden
male 1750 1811 Russian general
Benedikt de Caché
male Austrian envoy in Warsaw
Julius Caesar
male Roman Emperor WD / VIAF
Jean-Jacques Caffieri
male 1725 1792
Giuseppe Balsamo
male 1743 1795 Occultist and magician; alias was Count Alessandro di Cagliostro
Louis Antoine Caille
male Genevan bookseller mentioned by Voltaire
Charles Alexandre, vicomte de Calonne
male French Viscount (French) / Controller-General of Finances (France) WD / VIAF
Jean Calas
male 1698 1762 Symbol of religious intolerance in France, championed by Voltaire
Calchas
male Seer in Greek mythology
Charles Cameron
male 1745 1812 Scottish architect, designer of the Cameron Gallery, Summer Palace
Jean Cameron
female 1698 1772 Supporter of Bonnie Prince Charlie during the Jacobite Uprising of 1745
Armand-Gaston Camus
male 1740 1804 French revolutionary
Jeanne Louise Henriette Campan (née Genet)
female 1752 1822 French educator, writer, and lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette; sister of Edmond-Charles Genêt
Camela
female Italian singer at Catherine's court
Giovanni Battista Caprara Montecuccoli Archbishop of Milan
male 1733 1810 Cardinal, papal diplomat, Bishop of Milan
Élisabeth Cardel
female 1712 1764 French Governess A French Huguenot and the future Catherine the Great's governess in Stettin, from whom Catherine learned the French language and an appreciation for seventeenth-century French literature, especially Molière.
Carlos III
male 20 January 1716 (NS) 12 December 1788 (NS) Spanish King of Spain 10 August 1759 to 14 December 1788 VIAF
Louis Caravaque
male 1684 1752 French portrait painter
Marinos Charvouris
male a.k.a Lascaris, his pseudonym, army officer
Caroline Matilda Queen of Denmark and Norway
female 1751 1775 Daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales; mother of Frederick VI of Denmark and Norway
Caroline Amalie Elisabeth Queen of the United Kingdom
female 1768 1821 Consort of King George IV; born Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Carneades
male Philosopher
Francesco Saverio Carletti
male 1740 1803 Diplomat for the Grand Duke of Tuscany
Caroline Louise Duchess of Courland
female 1748 1782 Born Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Charles-Eugène Gabriel de La Croix marquis de Castries
male 1727 1801 Commandant de la Gendarmerie (1770+), maréchal de France (1783), friend of Grimm since 1755
Albert Casimir Duke of Teschen
male 1738 1822
Cassini Count
male Counsel of Russia in Rome
Catherine II the Great Empress of Russia
female 21 April 1729 (OS)/2 May 1729 (NS) 6 November 1796 Russian / empress of Russia / grand duchess of Russia / patron of the arts / German princess WD / VIAF
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
female Saint WD
Charles Cathcart 9th Lord Cathcart
male 1721 1776 British soldier and diplomat. Served at the Russian Court until 1772
Catharina Friederike Princess of Württemberg, then Queen consort of Westphalia
female 1783 1835
Catherine Hélène Alexandrine du Roux de Bueil called "Katinka"
female 1787 1872 Daughter of Emilie du Bueil, goddaughter of Catherine
Catherine-Henri-Louis-Frédéric (Cateau) du Roux de Bueil
male 1787
Catherine de' Medici Queen of France
female 1519 1589
Jane Hamilton Cathcart Lady Cathcart
female 1722 1771
Cavalcabo marquis
male Catherine II's agent in Malta.
Cazié
male translator
Ulric Celsing
male 1731 1805 Swedish diplomat; served as minister in Vienna 1787-89
Cenaze Hasan Pasha
male Ottoman Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire WD
Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha
male Ottoman WD / VIAF
Charles, duke of Södermanland, later Charles XIII, king of Sweden
male 7 October 1748 (NS) 5 February 1818 (NS) Swedish Duke of Södermanland (Sweden) / King of Sweden 1809 to 5 February 1818 WD / VIAF Leader of the Swedish Masonic Order of Strict Observance.
QueenCharlotte, née Sophia Charlottevon Mecklenburg-Strelitz
female 19 May 1744 (NS), Mirow Palace, duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 17 November 1818 (NS), Kew Palace British Queen of Great Britain and Ireland VIAF Charlotte collected a library of 4,000 volumes and preferred to be read to while dressing and while embroidering in the evening. She contributed to the development of Kew gardens and took great interest in botany. She was good friends with the Harcourt family and other patrons of the arts and sciences. Patron of artists Thomas Gainsborough, Johan Zoffany, and Mary Moser; Johann Christian Bach taught her music. She accepted dedications from female writers such as Helen Maria Williams and the queen's reader, bluestocking Cornelia Knight.
Karl Gustav, prince of Smaland
male 25 August 1782 (NS) 23 March 1783 (NS) Swedish Prince (Sweden) WD Second son of Gustav III of Sweden, Catherine's godchild. Died in infancy.
Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken
male 29 October 1746 (NS) 1 April 1795 (NS German Duke (German) VIAF
Charles (Karl) August Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
male 1757 1828
Charles Theodore Elector of Palatine, Elector of Bavaria
male 1724 1799
William Pitt Chatham Earl, Prime Minister of Great Britain
male 1708 1778
Letellier avocat de Chartres
male A lawyer in Chartres, unnamed by Grimm, who offered to sell a manuscript of Voltaire's. In exchange he received a gold medallion from Catherine (via Grimm) as payment. See https://books.google.com/books?id=u04oAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=zulime+manuscrit+voltaire&source=bl&ots=9VOLiRM5Ol&sig=ACfU3U1Fum1VyO6vHipCVTmkLOGsr6Ex0w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUy5C3spHyAhVSEFkFHYxnDv0Q6AEwEHoECAwQAw#v=onepage&q=zulime%20manuscrit%20voltaire&f=false
Charles III of Spain King of Spain
male 1716 1788
Charles Emmanuel III Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia
male 1701 1773
Charles X Philippe Count of Artois, King of France
male 1757 1836
Abraham-Joseph de Chaumeix
male 1730 1790 Author of attack on Encyclopedie
Charlotte Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (née princess of Saxe-Meiningen)
female 1751 1827
Charles VI King of France
male 1368 1422
Jean-Baptiste-Charles Chabroud
male 1750 1816 French lawyer and politician elected to the Estates General in 1789
Charles I King of England
male 1600 1649
Charles Frederick Henry of Württemberg
male 1770 1791 Brother of Grand Duchess Mariia Fedorovna
Charles V Holy Roman Emperor
male 1500 1558
Charlotte Queen of Württemberg
female 1766 1828 Daughter of George III
Charlotte Frederica Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
female 1784 1840
Charles IV King of Spain
male 1740 1819
Chanon
male Possibly a banker? Mentioned in Catherine's note to Falconet of 29 May 1770
Chastenay de Lanty Marquise de Dupleix
female
Charles Prince of Hesse-Kassel
male 1744 1836
Peredjy Chanum Princess, Regent of Derbent
female Persian princess who became the regent of Derbent
Charles XII King of Sweden
male 1682 1718
Charles Frederick Grand Duke of Baden
male 1728 1811 Margrave of Baden-Durlach 1738-1771; Margrave of Baden 1771-1803
Zakhar Grigor'evich Chernyshev
male 18 March 1722 (OS) 29 August 1784 (OS) Russian Count (Russian) / General (2nd Rank) / Governor WD / VIAF Exchanged flirtatious notes with Grand Duchess Catherine.
Dmitrii Vasil'evich Chertkov
male 1 May 1758 (OS) 11 April 1831 (OS) Russian Officer / Member of the Preobrazhenskii Guards Regiment / Actual State Councillor (4th Rank) WD Married colonel's daughter Evdokiya Stepanvna Tevyasheva. Had 3 sons. Received the Order of St. Vladimir, Forth Class, and the Order of St. Anna, Second Class, for his civil service in Voronezh region.
Ivan Grigor'evich Chernyshev
male 24 November 1726 (OS) 26 February 1797 (OS) Count (Russian) / Diplomat VIAF
Petr Petrovich Chebyshev
male c. 1725 c. 1791 Ober Procurator of the Apostolic Governing Synod
Chemineau Madame
female Grandmother of Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin
Aleksandr Ivanovich Cherkasov Baron
male 1728 1788 1st President of the Collegium of Medicine
Petr Grigor'evich Chernyshev Count
male 1712 1773
Jean-Philippe Loys de Cheseaux
male Swiss astronomer
Luka Matveevich Chekin
male
Vasilii Iakovlevich Chichagov
male 28 February 1726 (OS) 04 April 1809 (OS) Russian Admiral VIAF For the battle of Reval Catherine granted him the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called. Later Catherine granted him the Order of St. George, First class.
Chimène
female Character from Corneille's <i>Le Cid</i>
Antonio Chigi
male 1743 1816 Italian architect
Chilperic I King of the Franks
male 539 584
Nikolai Ivanovich Chicherin
male 1724 1782 Russian general-politsmeister of St Petersburg, 1764-1782
Laure-Auguste de Fitz-James Princess de Chimay
female 1744 1814 lady in waiting to Marie Antoinette; informed people about the state of the children of Louis XVI
Denis Ivanovich Chicherin
male 1720/21 1785 Governor of Siberia
MariiaSimonovnaChoglokova, née Gendrikova
female 1723 19 March 1756 (OS) Russian Court WD Chief stewardess to Catherine
Marie-Gabriel-Florent-Auguste de Choiseul-Gouffier
male French Diplomat WD / VIAF
Étienne-François, comte de Stainville, duc deChoiseul
male 28 June 1719 (NS) 8 May 1785 (NS) French Minister of State (France) WD / VIAF Catherine held Choiseul responsible for the French policy of pushing the Ottoman Empire to declare war on Russia in 1768 and then for providing the Ottomans with French military support and advisers like the chevalier de Tott. Like Catherine, the duc de Choiseul was among Voltaire's correspondents. Catherine nonetheless later credited her own correspondence with Voltaire with bringing about Choiseul's fall from royal grace and from his ministerial office in December 1770.
François-Timoléon Choisy abbé de Choisy
male 1644 1727
Louise Honorine Crozat Du Châtel Duchesse de Choiseul
female 1734 1801
Naum Nikolaevich Choglokov Pretender
male 1743 1798 Russian pretender. He volunteered to serve in the Caucasus with the chimerical intention of seizing the Georgian throne. He was arrested after defecting to the Georgians, and the war council in Kazan sentenced him in April 1771 to exile in Siberia, where he remained until the accession of Catherine’s son Paul. In a letter of 9 November 1770 (NS), Voltaire conveyed to Catherine demands from merchants in Geneva to whom Choglokov owed payment.
Louis Félix Raoul de Choiseul-Gouffier
male 1848
Charlotte-Eugénie Choiseul Countess, Abbesse of Saint-Louis in Metz
female
de Choix lieutenant colonel
male Lieutenant colonel of the Lorraine legion taken prisoner after siege of Wawel Castle
Étienne François de Choiseul duc de Choiseul
male 1719 1785
ChristianVII, king of Denmark
male 1749 1808 Danish King of Denmark and Norway 1766 to 1808 VIAF Son of Frederick V of Denmark and Norway
Christina queen of Sweden Kristina Augusta
female 1628 1689 Swedish Queen of Sweden WD / VIAF Daughter of Gustav II Adolf
Christian August Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
male 1690 1747 Father of Catherine the Great
ElizabethChudleigh, duchess of Kingston
female 8 March 1721, London, England 26 August 1788, Paris, France British Duchess (British) VIAF As maid of honour to the Princess of Wales, she attracted the attentions of King George II, but did not become his mistress. Became legendary for her licentiousness. Most famous for having been found guilty of bigamy.
Cicero
male 106BCE 43BCE
Domenico Cimarosa
male 1749 1801 Italian composer engaged by Catherine
Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) Roman Emperor
male 10 BC 54 AD
Florimond Claude comte de Mercy-Argenteau
male 1727 1794 Austrian diplomat
John Clark
male Architect brought on by Catherine II in 1794
Charles-Louis Clérisseau
male 1721 1820 French Painter / architect WD / VIAF
Marie-Joséphine Clérisseau
female French Daughter of Charles-Louis Clérisseau.
Clement XIII Pope
male 1693 1769
Clement XIV Pope
male 1705 1774
Clemens Wenceslaus Prince of Saxony
male 1739 1812 Archbishop-Elector of Trier (1768- 1803)
François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix Count of Clerfayt
male 1733 1798 Called Clairfeldt by Catherine II and Clairfait by Grimm
Marie Adélaïde Clotilde Xavière Queen Consort of Sardinia, petite fille de France
female 1759 1802 Louis XVI's younger sister
Clovis I King of the Franks
male 466 511
Friedrich Josias, duke of Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld
male Duke (German) / Field Marshal (non-Russian) VIAF Usually referred to simply as the 'prince de Cobourg'.
CountJohann Ludwig Joseph von Cobenzl
male 21 November 1753, Brussels 22 February 1809, Vienna, Austria Diplomat WD / VIAF
Johann Heinrich Friedrich, baron vonCocceji
male 1725 1785? Diplomat / Officer WD
Charles-Nicolas Cochin
male 1715 1790
Cochois (Fagot)
male tailor
Jacob Colyer
male Dutch Diplomat VIAF Dutch ambassador to Hungary and to the Ottoman Empire, count of the Holy Roman Empire. Willem Theyls served under him at Constantinople and dedicated his 'Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de Charles XII' to him.
Marie-Anne Collot
female 1742 1821 artist and sculptor, daughter-in-law of Falconet.
Charles Jacques Collin
male 1707 1775 Steward to Madame Pompadour, was a collector of gemstones and an amateur gem engraver.
Marco Coltellini
male 1719/1724 1777 Italian opera tenor, librettist and printer
Constantina Coltellini
female painter, miniaturist
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
male 1619 1683 French Finance minister under Louis XIV
Louis-Henri-Gabriel Conflans d'Armentières
male French VIAF
Confucius
male
Constantine Roman Emperor the Great
male 306 337
Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat Marquis de Condorcet
male 1743 1794 Called Nicolas de Condorcet; philosopher, writer, mathematician
Louis-François-Marc-Hilaire de Conzié Bishop of Arras
male 1736 1805 French bishop who traveled with the Count of Artois (Charles X)
James Cook Captain
male 1728 1779 British explorer
Antonio Allegri da Correggio
male 1489 1534 Italian painter, normally known as Correggio
Pierre Corneille
male 1606 1684 French tragedian
Charles Cornwallis 1st Marquess Cornwallis
male 1738 1805
Luis de Córdova y Córdova Admiral
male 1706 1796
Antoine Court de Gébelin
male 1725 1784 Writer and scholar
François-Célestin de Loynes de La Coudraye Chevalier de la Coudraye
male 1743 1815 French navy officer
William Coxe
male 1748 1828 English historion and priest
Pierre-François Cozette
male 1714 1801 Director of tapestry manufacturing and artist
Gabriel Cramer
male 1723 1793 Principal printer of Voltaire
Philibert Cramer
male 1729 1779 Principal printer of Voltaire
Marie Françoise Catherine de Beauvau-Craon marquise de Boufflers
female 1711 1786
Franz Ludwig von Cancrin
male 1738 1812 German mineralogist, metallurgist, architect and writer who became a councillor of state at St. Petersburg. Father of Count Georg von Cancrin, or Kankrin who was a Russian minister of finance
Charles Juste de Beauvau Prince de Craon
male 1720 1793
Gustav Philipp Creutz
male 1731 1785 Swedish / Diplomat WD / VIAF
Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon 1st Duke of Mahón, 2nd Duke of Crillon
male 1717 1796
Louis Antoine Crozat Baron de Thiers
male 1700 1770 art collector
Anne Julie Françoise de Crussol d'Uzès Duchesse de la Vallière
female 1713 1707
Adam-Philippe de Custine Count
male 1740 1793
Maria Czartoryska Duchess of Württemberg
female 1768 1854 Writer; divorced her husband, Duke Louis of Württemberg, in 1793
Michal Fryderyk Czartoryski Prince
male 1696 1755
Dagobert I Frankish emperor
male 603 639 King of Austrasia, the Franks, etc.
Hermann Conrad von Dahl
male 1714
Carl Theodore Anton Maria baron von Dalberg
male 1744 1817 elector of Mainz
Olof von Dalin
male 1708 1763 Swedish nobleman and historian
Roger de Damas
male 1765 1823 French WD / VIAF Protege of prince Nassau-Siegen
Charles de Damas Baron de Damas
male 1758 1795 Died in battle at Quiberon
Ange Hyacinthe Maxence de Damas Baron de Damas
male 1786 1862
George Dandin
male Fictional Character WD Central character in Molière's comedy of the same name.
Vilim D'Andriia Вилим Дандрий
male Translator who was held captive by Mustafa III along with the Russian embassador Alexey Obreskov.
EkaterinaRomanovnaDashkova, née Vorontsova
female 1743 1810 Russian Princess (Russia) VIAF Wife of the prince Mikhail-Kondraty Ivanovich Dashkov (died in 1764)
Pavel Mikhailovich Dashkov Prince
male 1763 1807 Russian engineer and son of Princess Dashkova
Mikhail Ivanovich Dashkov Prince
male 1736 1764 Husband of Princess Dashkova
Leonardo Da Vinci
male 1452 1519
Delorme
male Noted packer of antiques
Giovanni Battista Dell'Era
male 1766 1798 Italian painter
Delalain
male Involved in the siege of Wawel Castle and taken prisoner
Demosthenes
male Greek orator
Fedor Petrovich Denisov
male 1738 1803 Russian Cossack / count / Officer VIAF Don Cossack. Patronised by and corresponded with Grigorii Potemkin.
Marie-Louise Denis (née Mignot)
female 1712 1790 Known as Madame Denis. Voltaire's niece.
Otto Wilhelm von Derfelden
male 1735 1819 Baltic German / Russian WD / VIAF
Maria Beatrice d'Este Princess of Modena
female 1750 1829
René Descartes
male 1596 1650 Philosopher
Marie Louis Henri Descorches
male 1749 1830 Diplomat
WilliamCavendish, fifthduke of Devonshire
male 14 December 1748 (NS) 29 July 1811 (NS), London, England British nobleman / WD Whig. Most famous for his wife, Georgiana, duchess of Devonshire.
Charles de Wailly
male 1729 1798 French architect
Villim Petrovich von Dezin (Fondezin)
male 1740 1826 Russian Admiral Admiral of the Russian Black Sea Fleet
Diana
female Roman goddess of wild animals
Denis Diderot
male 5 October 1713 31 July 1784 French Philosopher / Art Critic / Writer / Playwright VIAF One of the great polymaths and creative writers of the European Enlightenment who wrote in virtually all prose genres and was especially innovative as the author of philosophical fictions and art criticism, from 1759 contributing to the Correspondance littéraire critical reviews of the biennial salons of paintings and sculptures at the Louvre. Primary editor of and major contributor to the Encyclopédie; completed the project following its censorship woes and the abandonment of the work by Jean Le Rond d'Alembert. Catherine suggested that the publication be finished in Russia, and later plans for a Russian second edition were discussed, but these endeavours never came to fruition. Catherine purchased Diderot's library in 1765, left it in his possession, and paid him a pension as her librarian, thereby allowing him to provide a dowry for his daughter. Diderot served as an art agent for Catherine, helping her to acquire the Crozat art collection and recruiting Etienne-Maurice Falconet to execute the famous statue of Peter I, the Bronze Horseman, in St. Petersburg. His recommendation of an economic advisor, Pierre-Paul Lemercier de La Rivière, was less successful. Diderot visited Catherine in St. Petersburg in 1773-1774. During his visit, he wrote and presented to Catherine his Mélanges philosophiques, historiques, etc. pour Catherine II. They met three times weekly and discussed matters of political theory, statecraft, legislation, and education. Beguiled by his brilliance, and diverted by his wit from her unhappy romance with Aleksandr Vassilchikov, Catherine's impression was double-edged, admiring of his intellect but sceptical that Diderot actually appreciated the difficulties even an autocratic ruler had in implementing the types of social and governmental reforms that Diderot envisaged. Catherine, said Diderot, had 'the soul of Caesar with the seductions of Cleopatra'. After returning to France, in May 1775 he sent her a Plan d'une université. The Observations sur le Nakaz, his commentary on her Instruction (Nakaz) to the Legislative Commission of 1767, reached Catherine only amongst his manuscripts sent with his library to Russia after his death. Much of his most famous œuvre was published posthumously.
Anne-Antoinette Diderot (née Champion) Wife of Diderot
female 1710 1796
Didot
male Printer
Heinrich Friedrich von Diez
male 2 September 1751 (NS), Bernburg, Anhalt 7 April 1817 (NS), Berlin Prussian Diplomat / Writer / Translator / Scholar VIAF
Thomas Dimsdale
male 29 May 1712 30 December 1800 (NS) British Doctor / Writer / Banker / member of Parliament WD / VIAF
Dimitrii (Sechenov) Metropolitan
male 1709 1767
Aleksandr Matveevich Dmitriev-Mamonov
19 September 1758 (OS) 29 September 1803 (OS), Moscow, Russian Empire Russian Favourite / Member of the Cavalier Guards / Count (Russian) WD / VIAF Son of a senator. Began service in the guards. Distant relative of Grigorii Potemkin.
Matvei Vasil'evich Dmitriev-Mamonov
male 1724 1810
Prince Vladimir Sergeevich Dolgorukov
male 1717 1803 Russian Prince (Russia) WD
Vasilii Vasil'evich Dolgorukov
male 1752 1812 Russian Prince (Russia) / General (2nd Rank) / Member of the Semenovskii Guards Regiment WD Served under Grigorii Potemkin in the Second Russo-Turkish War and acted occasionally as courier. Potemkin was rumoured to have had a soft spot for Dolgorukov's wife, Ekaterina Fedorovna (née Baryatinskaya): he is reported to have ordered the two best Gypsy dancers in Russia from the Caucasus for her, to have built her an underground palace, and, at her birthday dinner, to have served diamonds in place of dessert. After his dismissal from Russian service, he lived in Paris and Vienna, then returned to St Petersburg.
Iurii Vladimirovich Dolgorukii
male 1740 1830 Russian / General (2nd Rank) WD / VIAF
Vasilii Mikhailovich Dolgorukov-Krymskii General Prince
male 1722 1782
Sergei Gerasimovich Domashnev
male 24 September 1743 (OS) 29 August 1795 (OS) Russian Writer VIAF
Alexandre Marie Francois-de-Paule de Dompierre d'Hornoy
male 1742 1828 Voltaire's great-nephew
Iona Fedorovich Dondukov Иона (Ассарай) Федорович Дондуков
male 1734 1781 Kalmyk prince, officer
Mariia Vasil'evna Korsakova
female Wife of Iona Fedorovich Dondukov
Don Quixote
male Eponymous hero of Cervantes' novel
Dmitrii Ivanovich Donskoi Grand Prince of Muscovy, c. 1380
male 1350 1389 Son of Ivan II the Fair; Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Price of Vladimir
Donnezac
male Involved in the siege of Wawel Castle and taken prisoner
Aleksei Fedorovich Dondukov Prince
male 1734 1781
Vera Ionovna Dondukov Princess
female 1780 1833
Dorseville
female French Actress French actress in St. Petersburg.
Claude Joseph Dorat
male 1734 1780 French writer
Gabriel François Doyen
male 1726 1806 French painter
Marie-Madeleine Guimard Drais (née Guimard)
female 1763 1779
Johann von Drewitz General Major
male 1733/39 1783
Guillaume Dubarry
male 1732 1811
Charles-Louis Ducrest Marquis
male 1747 1824
Dulcinea del Toboso
female Character in Don Quixote
Daniel Dumaresq
male 1712 1805 English theologist, educational consultant to Cathrine, pastor of the British colony in Saint-Petersburg
Dumont
male
Jean Germain Dumesnil
male 1740 1798
Charles-François du Périer Dumouriez General
male 1739 1823
Antoine de Ferriol, comte de Pont-de-Veyle
male 1697 1774 French Playwright WD / VIAF
François-Michel Durand de Distroff
male 19 March 1714 (NS), Metz, France 5 August 1778 (NS), Metz, France French Diplomat WD / VIAF
Nikolai Dmitrievich Durnovo
male 1725 1816 Russian General-in-chief (2nd Rank) / Senator WD
Angelo Maria Durini
male 1725 1796
Anne Duvivier countess of Vergennes
female 1730 1787 Wife of Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes
Anthony Van Dyck
male 1599 1641 Flemish painter
Friedrich Matthias Eck
male 1729 1789 Director of post office, Saint Petersbourg, 1764-1789
Ahmed Resmî Efendi
male 1700 1783 Ottoman Diplomat WD / VIAF
Ibrahim Münib Efendi
male Ottoman Diplomat Identified here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Küçük_Kaynarca.
Carl August Ehrensvärd
male 5 May 1745 21 May 1800 Swedish Naval Officer / / Writer VIAF
Ekaterina Pavlovna
female Russian Grand Duchess of Russia VIAF
Ivan Perfil'evich Elagin
male Russian / Poet / Historian / Freemason VIAF
Elena Pavlovna
female Russian Grand Duchess of Russia WD / VIAF
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
female 18 November 1746 18 February 1840 German German Princess WD / VIAF
Elizabeth I Petrovna
female 18 December 1709 (OS) 25 December 1761 (OS) Russian Empress of Russia VIAF
Élisabeth Philippe Marie Hélène Princess of France
female 1764 1794 Known as Madame Élisabeth
Elizabeth Alekseevna Empress consort of Russia
female 1779 1826 Born Princess Louise of Baden; married to Alexander I
Elizabeth Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg
female 1770 1840
Elisabeth Wilhelmine Luise Duchess of Württemberg
female 1767 1790
Hugh Elliot
male 6 April 1752 (NS) 10 December 1830 (NS), London, England British Diplomat VIAF
Ivan (Johann Martin) Karpovich von Elmpt
male 1725 1802
John Elphinstone
male 1722 1785 English Naval Officer WD / VIAF Had a son called Samuel.
Samuel Elphinstone
male 1790 English / WD Son of the naval officer John Elphinstone
Angelo Emo
male 1731 1792 Venitian Admiral WD / VIAF Venitian Grand Admiral.
Vasilii Vasil'evich Engelhardt
male 1755 1828 Russian General (2nd Rank) / Count (Russian) WD / VIAF Nephew of Grigorii Potemkin. After the end of his affair with Catherine, Potemkin brought five of Vasilii Engelgardt's six sisters to court, where he was rumoured to have had affairs with most if not all of them. Catherine made Vasilii one of her flügel-adjutants.
Ennery
male Antiquities dealer who worked with Grimm
Louise Elisabeth Nicole de la Rochefoucauld duchesse d'Enville
female 1716 1797
Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont Chevalier d'Éon
male 1728 1810 French diplomat, spy, and soldier
Louise Florence Pétronille Tardieu d'Esclavelles d'Épinay
female 1726 1783 French writer, Grimm's companion
Vigilius Eriksen
male 1722 1782 Danish painter
Ernest II Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
male 1745 1804
Johann August Ernesti
male 1707 1781 Philologist and theologian who taught Grimm at Leipzig
Ernst Erbprinz von Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
male 1770 1779
Petr Dmitrievich Eropkin
male 24 June 1724 (OS), Moscow?, Russian Empire 7 February 1805 (OS) Russian Russian nobility / governor-general / general / senator WD / VIAF Educated at home, Eropkin spoke no foreign languages. He began his military career serving under his father, a general-lieutenant in the Caucasus. Heerved on the boards of the Smolny Institute and of the Infantry Noble Cadet Corps, on the commission on disputed Ukrainian estates, and in the Salt Office. He supported proposals made in the Senate to reestablish capital punishment and to prosecute serfs who did not protect their owners from attack; his attitude probably was affirmed by the murder of his father-in-law, General Nikolai Leontev, by a serf in 1769. Catherine did not enact these proposals.
Erofeich sham doctor Ерофеич
male
Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal Reichsfreiherr
male 1719 1802 Prince-elector and Archbishop of Mainz
François Louis d'Escherny Count
male 1733 1815 Grand chamberlain of the Duke of Württemberg; author/philosopher
Johann Joachim Eschenburg
male 1743 1820 German literary critic and translator of several of Shakespeare's works into German
Christoph Friedrich von Essen
male 1717 1771 soldier
Nikolaus I Prince Esterházy
male 1714 1790
Nikolaus II Prince Esterházy
male 1766 1833
Paul III Anton Prince Esterházy
male 1786 1866
Anton I Prince Esterházy
male 1738 1794 patron of Haydn
Richard Cadman Etches
male British Naval Officer Russian Commissary General of the Marine, recruited for the Russian service in 1789 by Semen Romanovich Vorontsov. Catherine approved his plan 'касательно вооружения им судов, для раззорения торговаго мореплавания' ('regarding his arming of ships to disrupt merchant seafaring') on 5 March 1789. He was not to travel south of Gibraltar and was to intercept only enemy ships, not interfering with neutral nations' ships, in accordance with Catherine's longstanding policy of armed neutrality.
Jean-Charles-Vincent de Bette d'Etienville (Etionville)
male 1758 1830 Embroiled in and wrote about his role in the Affair of the Queen's Necklace
Karl Eugen Duke of Württemberg
male 1728 1793
Eugen Friedrich Heinrich von Württemberg Duke
male 1758 1822
Leonhard Euler
male 1707 1783 Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer
Johann Euler
male 1734 1800 First born son of Leonhard Euler
Euripides
male 480 BCE 406 BCE Greek writer of tragedies
Evechous
male one of the first Babylonian kings
Iakov Mikhailovich Ezdemirovich
male Montenegrin colonel
Etienne-Maurice Falconet
male 1716 1791 French Sculptor / Art Critic WD / VIAF Friend of Diderot, author of the famous Bronze Horseman statue of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg.
Pierre-Etienne Falconet
male 1741 1791 French Painter WD / VIAF Son of sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet. Married his father's pupil Marie-Anne Collot.
Hayyim Samuel Jacob Falk Baal Shem of London
male 1708 1782
Falkenberg Doctor
male
William Augustus Henry Fawkener
male 1750 1811 British diplomat
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
male 6 September 1757 (NS) 20 May 1834 (NS) French Officer / Marquis WD / VIAF Famous for his participation in the American Revolutionary War and in the French Revolution.
Felino
male Marquis VIAF
Sidi Tahar Ben Abdelhaq Fennic
male Moroccan ambassador to France
Fredrik Axel von Fersen
male 1719 1794 Swedish General (2nd Rank) / WD Fought in the French army during the Seven Years' War. Father of the more famous Hans Axel von Fersen, confidant of Marie Antoinette.
Ferdinand IV King of Naples
male 1751 1825
Marie-Thérèse de La Ferté-Imbault
female 1715 1791 salonnière and daughter of Mme Geoffrin
Jean Baptiste Feronce von Rotenkreutz
male 1723 1799 minister at Brunswick
Ferdinand III Grand Duke of Tuscany, later Prince-elector and Grand Duke of Salzburg
male 1769 1824
Ferdinando Maria Filippo Lodovico Sebastiano Francesco Giacomo Duke of Parma
male 1751 1802
Villim Villimovich Fermor
male 1702 1771
Fedor Petrovich Filisov
male 1731 1784 Russian WD
Filaret Nikitovich Romanov Patriarch
male 1553 1633 commissioned church in Yaroslavl' visited by Catherine on Volga voyage
Mikhail Mikhailovich Filosofov
male 1732 1811
AlleyneFitzherbert, Baron St Helens
male 1 March 1753 (NS), St Helens, Derby, England 19 February 1839 (NS), London, England British Diplomat / Baron (British) WD / VIAF
Fleming
male
Jean-François Joly de Fleury
male 1718 1802 French finance minister after Necker
Georg Detlev von Flemmin
male 1699 1771
Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin
male 1745 1792 Playwright; secretary to N.I. Panin
Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle
male 1657 1757
Fontaine
male Frenchman involved in a scandal related to the Lanskoy family
François de Fontanges
male 1744 1806 Archbishop of Toulouse
Johann Georg (Georg) Forster
male 1754 1794
Ferigo Todero Foscari
male 1733 1797 Venetian diplomat in Russia
Charles James Fox
male 24 January 1749 (NS), London, England 13 September 1806 (NS), Chiswick House, London, England British / Member of Parliament (Great Britain) WD / VIAF Catherine was so pleased with Fox's interventions in the diplomatic struggle between Russia and England that she famously placed a bust of Fox between those of Cicero and Demosthenes at Tsarkoe Selo. This elicited a satirical engraving by James Sayers, 'The Patriot Exalted'.
Benjamin Franklin
male 1706 1790 Author, inventor, Founding Father
Francis I Stephen Holy Roman Emperor
male 1708 1765
Francis Xavier Elector of Saxony
male 1730 1806
Francis II Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of Austria
male 1768 1835
François I King of France
male 1494 1547
Francis Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld
male 1750 1806
Fransures Chevalier de Fransures
male Naval officer who wished to enter into Catherine's service
Franz Xavier Prince of Saxony
male 1730 1806
Frederick II (the Great)
male 18 January 1712 (NS), Berlin 17 August 1786 (NS), Sans Souci Prussian King of Prussia WD / VIAF Catherine visited the court at Berlin multiple times during her youth; rumour even held for a long time that Catherine was Frederick's daughter. Later, Catherine could not have missed the positive image of Frederick as an Enlightened monarch via the writings of Voltaire and the Encyclopédistes; her son Paul studied Frederick as a model for imitation. She maintained an interest in Frederick long after his death: she annotated the Abbé Carlo Giovanni Maria Denina's 'Essai sur la vie et le règne de Frédéric II, roi de Prusse' (the notes can be found in Sochineniya, ed. by A.N. Pypin, xii, pp. 675-86). She claimed, though, to be unable to read very far in his posthumous works, finding his insults and lies regarding Russia unbearable (see, for example, her letter to Grimm of 23 January 1789).
Frederick V
male 1723 1766 Danish King of Denmark and Norway 1746 to 1766 VIAF Father of Christian VII of Denmark and Norway
Ivan Iur'evich Frederiks Baron
male 1723 1779 Court banker (Johan Georg Freedericksz)
Frederick VI King of Denmark and Norway
male 1768 1839
Frederika Sophia Wilhelmina Princess of Orange
female 1751 1820
Frederica Dorothea Wilhelmina Queen of Sweden
female 1781 1826 Sister of Grand Duchess Elizabeth; born Princess Frederica of Baden
Frederica Dorothea Louise Philippine Princess Radziwill
female 1770 1836 Born Princess Louise of Baden, niece of Frederick the Great
Frederick Francis I Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
male 1756 1837
Frederick IV Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
male 1774 1825
Frederick Louis Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
male 1778 1819
Friedrich duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
male 9 November 1717 (NS) 24 April 1785 (NS) Duke (German) VIAF
Friedrich August duke of Holstein-Gottorp-Oldenburg, prince bishop/coadjutor of Lübeck
male 20 September 1711 (NS) 6 July 1785 (NS) German Prince VIAF Father of Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte, future duchess of Södermanland and queen of Sweden.
Friedrich Wilhelm II
male 25 September 1744, Berlin, Prussia 1797-11-16, Potsdam, Prussia German King of Prussia 1786 to 1797 VIAF
Friederike Dorothea Sophia von Brandenburg-Schwedt, duchess of Württemberg
female 1736 1798 Duchess (German) VIAF Mother of the future Grand Duchess Mariia Fedorovna, wife of the future Paul I.
Friedrich II Eugen duke of Württemberg
female 1732 1797 Duke (German) VIAF Father of the future Grand Duchess Mariia Fedorovna, wife of the future Paul I.
Friedrich Wilhelm Karl, prince of Württemberg
male 6 November 1754 (NS) 30 October 1816 (NS) Duke (German) / German Prince / King of Württemberg / Officer / Governor WD / VIAF Brother of Russian Grand Duchess Mariia Fedorovna. Abusive husband of Auguste Karoline, née princess von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel.
Friederike Luise, princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, queen of Prussia
female 16 October 1751 (NS) 25 February 1805 German German Princess / Queen of Prussia VIAF Sister of Paul's first wife, Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt (married name Grand Duchess Natal'ia Alekseevna).
Friedrich Christian, elector of Saxony
male 5 September 1722 (NS) 17 December 1763 (NS) German Prince-elector VIAF
Friederike Charlotte Ulrike Katharina, princess of Prussia
female 7 May 1767 (NS) 6 August 1820 (NS) German German Princess / Duchess (British) VIAF Daughter of the future Friedrich Wilhelm II and his wife Elisabeth Christine of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel. Catherine's god-daughter.
Friedrich Wilhelm prince of Hesse-Philippsthal
male 1764 1804 German / Colonel (6th Rank) VIAF Served in the Russian army in the Izium Hussar regiment.
Friederike Elisabeth Amalie Auguste Duchess of Württemberg
female 1765 1785
Friedrich Wilhelm Carl (William I) King of Württemberg
male 1781 1864
Friedrich Wilhelm III King of Prussia
male 1770 1840 Reigned 1797-1806
Friedrich Ludwig Karl (Louis Charles)
male 1773 1796 Second son of Friedrich Wilhelm II
Friedrich Augustus Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
male 1734 1793
Friederike Auguste Sophie Princess consort of Anhalt-Zerbst
female 1744 1827 Sister in law of Catherine II; born Princess of Anhalt-Bernburg
Friedrich August I Elector of Saxony
male 1750 1827
Funck
male Huntsman for Catherine
Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg count of Fürstenberg
male 1760 1799 Prussian general
Karl Egon I CANT' FIND ANYONE WITH THIS NAME zu Fürstenberg
male 1729 1787
Caterina Gabrielli
female 1730 1796 Italian opera singer
Giulia Gabrielli (née Sforza-Riario)
female Identification uncertain
Dmitrii Gagrin
male 1780 Russian Colonel (6th Rank) WD
Prince GavrilaPetrovichGagarin
male 09 January 1745 (OS) 19 January 1808 (OS) Russian Prince (Russia) WD / VIAF
Louis-Jean Gaignat
male 1697 1768 French Collector
Berardo Galiani
male 1724 1774 Art historian
Baldassare Galuppi Composer
male 1706 1785 Venetian composer
Paul-François de Gallucio marquis de l'Hôpital
male 1697 1767 French ambassador to Russia, 1757-1760
Ferdinando Galiani
male 1728 1787 Italian economist
referred to as 'the young Gallatin' Gallatin
male a prominent family of Geneva, the Gallatins were good friends with Voltaire, who recommended sending a 16-year-old member of the family to Riga to study German, Russian, and law, in order to enter Catherine’s service.
Galibert
male French officer in service of Polish confederacy
Aleksandr Pavlovich Galakhov
male 1739 1798
Abram Petrovich Gannibal
male 1696 14 May 1781 Afro-Russian / Engineer / General (2nd Rank) VIAF Grandfather of Alexandr Pushkin
Garkoy
male artist/painter
MetropolitanGavriil (PetrPetrovichPetrov-Shaposhnikov)
male Russian Metropolitan WD / VIAF Metropolitan of St. Petersburg
Caroline-Stéphanie-Félicité de Genlis comtesse de Genlis
female 1746 1830 French writer
Edmond-Charles Genêt
male 1763 1834 French diplomat, spy
Ivan Simonovich Gendrikov Count
male 1719 1778
Georg Ludwig prince of Holstein-Gottorp
male 16 March 1719 (NS) 7 September 1763 (NS) German Prince / Field Marshal (non-Russian) VIAF Catherine's maternal uncle, who fell in love with her when she was 14: she agreed to marry him, but soon afterward she was summoned to Russia to marry the future Peter III instead. A close advisor of Peter III during his short reign, Georg Ludwig left Russia following Catherine's coup. Upon his death, Catherine became guardian of his two sons, Wilhelm August and Peter Friedrich Ludwig.
George III
male 24 May 1738 (NS), St. James's Square, London 29 January 1820 (NS), Windsor British King of Great Britain and Ireland / king of Great Britain and Ireland / king of Hanover VIAF
George IV
male 12 August 1762 (NS), St. James's Palace, London 26 June 1830 (NS), Windsor British King of Great Britain and Ireland VIAF
Marie-Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin Madame
female 1699 1777 salonnière
George II King of Great Britain
male 1683 1760
Johann Gottlieb Georgi
male 1729 1802 German naturalist, geographer
Georg I Frederick Karl Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
male 1761 1803
Claude Louis comte de Saint-Germain
male 1707 1778
Salomon Gessner
male 1730 1788 Swiss printmaker, author and poet
Giovanni Battista Ghigi
male 1780 Abbot, geographer, editor
Grigore III Ghica Hospodar of Moldavia
male 1724 1777
Gianini Countess
female Countess from Brunswick in whose home Catherine II's mother grew up (from letter 02822)?
Edward Gibbon
male 1737 1794
Nicolas-François Gillet
male 1712 1791 French sculptor and director of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St Petersbourg
Karl Khristianovich von Ginzel'
male 1741 after 1816 Russian Lieutenant General (3rd Rank) / Governor WD / VIAF
François Girardon
male 1628 1715 Sculptor of Louis XIV
Girard
male According to Falconet's letter to Catherine of 9 November 1769, Girard had been in Petersburg for the past three years gathering materials for a history or description of Russia. See Correspondance de Falconet avec Catherine II, ed. Louis Réau (Paris: Champion, 1921), p. 108.
Anne-Germaine Girardot de Vermenoux
female Appears in the Portrait d'Olympe in the <i>Correspondence Littéraire</i>; sculpted by Houdon
Dieudonné-Gabriel Humbert Comte de Girecourt
male 1734 1795 Author of <i>Essai sur l'histoire de la maison d'Autriche</i>
Şahin Giray Khan
male 1745 1787 Khan of Crimea. Catherine installed the mercurial but compliant Şahin Giray as khan and sent Russian forces to keep him on the throne.
Selim III Giray Khan of Crimea
male 1713 1786
Antonii Glezi
male Greek Naval Officer Was in charge of the Greek ship "Panagia de Duseno" that went from Sevastopol to spy on the Crimean tatar army. Potemkin asked Catherine to promote Glezi.
Aleksandr Ivanovich Glebov General Field-marshal
male 1722 1790
Ivan Fedorovich Glebov
male 1707 1774 Military Commander
Ivan Iakovlevich Globa
male 1791 Ukranian Cossack WD
Christoph Willibald Gluck composer
male 1714 1787
Gloukhof
male A lieutenant of the corps of engineers whom Suvorov had elevated to the corps of artillery cadets after the taking of Prague
Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria
male 1767 1851 Prime Minister of Spain
CountJohann Eustach von Görtz
male 5 April 1737 (NS), Schlitz, Upper Hesse 7 August 1821 (NS), Regensburg Prussian Diplomat / Count (German) WD / VIAF
Prince Golitsyn
male Russian Field Marshal (non-Russian)
Leopold HeinrichGraf von der Goltz
male 19 March 1745 (NS), Berlin 15 June 1816 (NS), Berlin Prussian Count (German) / General (2nd Rank) / Diplomat VIAF
Dmitrii Alekseevich Golitsyn
male 15 May 1734 (OS), Gireevo, Moscow Region, Russian Empire 1803 Russian Diplomat / Scholar VIAF As Russian ambassador in The Hague, Golitsyn hosted Diderot on his way to and from Russia, arranged for Catherine's early interactions with Grimm, organised the purchase of Diderot's library, signed the contract with Falconet, purchased large quantities of art for Catherine, corresponded with Voltaire, and arranged for the publication of Helvétius's 'De l'homme'. Honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts, author of various scholarly works. Supporter of the physiocrats.
Prince Dmitrii Mikhailovich Golitsyn
male 15 May 1721 (OS) 19 September 1793 (OS), Vienna, Austria Russian Diplomat / Prince (Russia) WD / VIAF
Prince Aleksandr Mikhailovich Golitsyn
male 1723 1807 Russian Prince (Russia) / Senator / Vice-Chancellor (Russia) / diplomat WD / VIAF
Prince Petr Mikhailovich Golitsyn
male 1738 1775 Russian General (2nd Rank) WD Commanded troops involved in suppressing the Pugachev Rebellion.
Pavel Andreevich Golovatyi
male 1715 1790-1795 Ukranian Cossack WD Last military judge of the Zaporozhian Sich.
Sergei Fedorovich Golitsyn
male 1749 1810 Russian Prince (Russia) / Colonel (6th Rank) VIAF
Nikolai Alekseevich Golitsyn
male 1751 1809 Russian Prince (Russia) / Senator VIAF Grandson of Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich GolitsynServed as a Russian ambassador to Sweden.
Natal'ia Petrovna Golitsyna Princess
female 1741 1838
Praskov'ia Andreevna Golitsyna (née Shuvalova) Princess
female 1767 1828
Carlo Goldoni
male 1707 1783 Italian playwright, librettist, friend of Voltaire
Egor Andreevich Golovtsyn Головцын Major General
male c. 1730? c.1780? governor of Arkhangelsk
Karl Franz von der Goltz
male 1740 1804 Brother of Gol02; Prussian general
Fedor Gavrilovich Golovkin Count
male 1766 1823 Memoirist, Russian ambassador to Naples
Nikolai Mikhailovich Golitsyn Prince
male 1727 1786/1787 Ober-gofmarshal of Catherine's court
Aleksandr Mikhailovich Golitsyn Field Marshal Prince
male 1718 1783
August Stanislaus von der Goltz
male 1725 1795
William Gomm
male Merchant with the "Russia Company"; from 1765 - court banker of Catherine
Fedor Goncharov
male Russian Officer Fought under General N.M. Golitsyn to suppress the Pugachev Rebellion from January 1774. Particularly distinguished himself at the Battle of Sakmarsky Gorodok on 1 April 1774.
George Gordon Lord
male 1751 1793 British politician involved in the "Gordon Riots"
Gostomysl Prince of Novgorod
male
Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter
male 1746 1797 German poet
William Gould
male 1735 1812 Potemkin's garden designer
Bernardas Stanislovas Gozdskis
male 1704 1771
Charles Gravier Comte de Vergennes
male 1719 1787
Michał Grabowski General
male 1773 1812 natural son of the King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski
Philibert de Gramont
male 1621 1707 memoirist
Thomas Robinson 2nd Baron Grantham
male 1738 1786 British statesman
Sir Samuel Greig
male 30 November 1735 (NS), Inverkeithing, Fife, Scotland 26 October 1788 (NS), Reval/Tallinn harbour, Russian Empire British Admiral WD / VIAF
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
male 1725 1805 French portrait and genre painter
Thomas Grenville
male 1755 1846 British politician, son of PM George Grenville, brother of George Nugent Temple (Lord Temple)
Friedrich Melchior Grimm
male 26 December 1723 (NS), Regensburg 19 December 1807 (NS), Gotha Journalist / Writer / Baron (German) VIAF A familiar of Parisian salons and aristocratic circles, he was editor of the biweekly manuscript periodical Correspondance littéraire, philosophique et critique between 1753 and 1773, with circulation limited to about fifteen crowned heads of Europe, including Catherine the Great, Frederick II, and Stanislas Poniatowski. Grimm first met Catherine in St. Petersburg in 1773, when he accompanied to Russia the brother of Wilhelmine Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt, the future Grand Duchess Natal'ia Alekseevna. From September 1773 to April 1774, Catherine received him for private conversations and often shared private matters with her fellow German; their correspondence continued until a month before Catherine's death. He visited Russia again in 1776-1777, when he officially entered Russian service. A friend of Diderot and Rousseau, and a controversial figure with a reputation for false friendship, he served as Catherine's agent in Paris for the purchase of works of art, for a stipend of 2,000 rubles annually. He served as the intermediary for, among other things, the purchase of Voltaire's library, the censorship of Catherine's correspondance with Voltaire in the Kehl edition, the recruitment of composer Giovanni Paisiello, and the copying of the Raphael Loggias for the Winter Palace.
Johann Ludwig Grimm
male 1714 1777 Oldest brother of Friedrich M Grimm; mayor of Regensburg
Griff
male banker who took charge of a parcel for Catherine II
Johann Melchior Grimm Pastor
male 1682 1749 Father of Friedrich Melchior Grimm
Sibylle Margarete Grimm
female 1684 1774 Mother of Friedrich Melchior Grimm
Fedor Ivanovich Gross
male 1729 1796 Russian diplomat WD / VIAF Served as the intermediary for Catherine's correspondence with Johann Georg Zimmermann.
George Prince of Georgia Tsarevich Georgii Vakhtangovich Gruzinskii
male 1712 1786
Georg Christoph Grooth
male 1716 1749 German artist
Grosschlag Baron
male
Genrikh (Heinrich Gottfried) Ivanovich Gross
male 1714 1765
Jacques Guay
male 1711 1793 Gem engraver and jeweller associated with Mme de Pompadour.
Ivan Vasil'evich Gudovich
male 1741 1820
Guimené or Guéméné
male
Roger-Guillaume Baron de Fages-Chaulnes
male Frenchman accused of playing a role in the Affair of the Queen's necklace
Karl Gottlieb Guichard
male 1724 1775 Soldier and military writer who fought under Prince Henry
Robert Gunning
male 8 June 1731 (NS) 22 September 1816 (NS) British Diplomat WD
Gustav III
male 24 January 1746 (NS) 29 March 1792 (NS), Stockholm Swedish King of Sweden 1772 to 29 March 1792 WD / VIAF Gustav was Catherine's cousin: his father Adolf Frederick of Holstein-Eutin, formerly prince bishop of Lübeck, and Catherine's mother Johanna Elisabeth were siblings. His mother was Louise-Ulrike, sister of Frederick II of Prussia; his father had been placed on the throne by Empress Elizabeth of Russia, who had recently chosen Catherine's future husband, the sometime Peter III, as her own successor. He instigated a war with Russia, 1788-1790. He died of wounds received in an assassination attempt at the Stockholm Opera House on 16 March 1792 (NS).
GustavIVAdolf, king of Sweden
male 1 November 1778 (NS) 7 February 1837 (NS) Swedish King of Sweden WD Son of Gustav III. Visited St. Petersburg in 1796: Catherine hoped to arrange his marriage to her granddaughter Aleksandra Pavlovna, but the engagement was broken off on religious grounds. Reigned 1792-1809.
Gustav II Adolf king of Sweden
male 1594 1632 Swedish King of Sweden WD
Henning Adolf Gyllenborg
male 1713 1775
Jakob Philipp Hackert
male 1737 1807 German painter
Daniel Hailes
male British Diplomat VIAF British envoy to Poland, 1788-91.
Gottlieb Emmanuel de Haller
male 1747 1833 Banker and later quartermaster for Napoleon in Italy
William Hamilton
male 1730 1806 English ambassador to Naples
Charles Hanbury Williams Sir
male 1708 1759
JamesHarris, firstearl of Malmesbury
male 21 April 1746 (NS), Salisbury, England 21 November 1820 (NS), Mayfair, London, England British Diplomat / Member of Parliament (Great Britain) WD
Jean-François de la Harpe
male 1739 1803 French playwright and critic
Frédéric-César de la Harpe
male 1754 1838 Swiss political leader and personal teacher of Alexander I
Hardy
male Hair dresser to Lanskoy, recommended by Grimm
Karl August von Hardenberg
male 1750 1822 Prussian statesman
Berndt Johan Hastfer
male 3 May 1737 (NS) 1809, Russia Swedish Officer VIAF
Gottfried Fabian Haude
male 1714 Prussian VIAF Prussian envoy to the Ottoman Empire during the Seven Years' War
de Haussay
male Unidentified
Robert Hay
male
Jean Hay
male
Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte princess of Holstein-Gottorp
female 22 March 1759 (NS), Eutin 20 June 1818 (NS), Stockholm Swedish Duchess of Södermanland (Sweden) / Queen of Sweden / German princess / queen of Sweden WD / VIAF Daughter of Friedrich August, duke of Holstein-Gottorp-Oldenburg, and Ulrike Frederike Wilhelmine of Hesse-Cassel; niece of Adolf Frederick, king of Sweden (1710-1771). She grew up in Eutin and married Charles, Duke of Södermanland, younger brother of Gustav III of Sweden, the future Charles XIII of Sweden from 1809.
Jadwiga Queen of Poland
female 1373 1399
Helena Saint
female Mother of Constantine the Great
Claude Adrien Helvétius
male 1715 1771 Swiss materialist
Georg Adolf Wilhelm von Helbig
male 1757 1813 Saxon diplomat
Henri IV
male 1553 French King of France 1589 to 1610 VIAF
Henry, prince of Prussia
male 18 January 1726 (NS), Berlin 3 August 1802 (NS), Rheinsberg Prussian General (2nd Rank) / German Prince WD
Heraclitus
male Greek Philosopher WD / VIAF Presocratic philosopher known as the 'weeping philosopher'.
CountEwald Friedrich von Hertzberg
male 2 September 1725 (NS) 27 May 1795 (NS), Berlin Prussian WD / VIAF
Heraclius II King of Kartli and Kakheti
male 1720 1798 Georgian King VIAF
Viscount de Herreira
male Spanish ambassador to Russia and later minister to Naples
Herod
male Biblical figure
Hercules
male Greek mythic hero
Herodotus
male 'Father of History'
Peter Philipp Herbert von Rathkeal
male 1735 1802 Austrian ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
William Heste
male 1753 1832 Russian architect and civil engineer
Jean Frédéric Augustin Thomin de Heymann
male 1740 1801 French marechal de camp and Prussian ambassador in Munich
Hippocrates
male
Louis-Grégoire Lehoc (Le Hoc)
male 1743 1810 Representative of France in Sweden, 1795-1796
Franziska Theresia von Hohenheim
female 1748 1811 Official mistress then second wife of the Duke of Württemburg
Ludvig Holberg
male 1684 1754 Norwegian (at the time Danish) writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright
Homer
male
Jaan van Hooft
male 1726 Dutch Admiral WD Served in the Russian Navy. Father-in-law of Kingsberghen.
Johann Ludwig Hordt
male 1719 1798 Swedish / Lieutenant General (3rd Rank) VIAF Lieutenant-General in the Prussian army. Was taken hostage by the Russian Army in the Seven Years' War. Was freed by Peter III
Adam Horn
male 1719 1778 Swedish / VIAF
Horace
male
Jean-Antoine Houdon
male 1741 1828 French sculptor
Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Houël (sometimes Houel)
male 1735 1813 Engraver, painter
Richard Howe
male 1726 1799 English Admiral WD / VIAF Served in the American Revolutionary War.
Jean Huber
male 1721 1786 Genevan painter
Johann Heinrich Hurter
male 1734 1799 artist
Huseyngulu Khan of Baku
male 1774 1845
Huttel
male somehow involved in second Russo-Turkish war, provided a count of troops
Iaenisch
male Minister at Leipzig recommended to Catherine as an agronomist
Iakovlev
male Complains about Falconet's design for the Bronze Horseman. See Falconet's letter to Catherine of 1 June 1770.
Aleksei Aleksandrovich Iakovlev
male 1726 1781 Statesman and senator
Ibrahim Pasha
male Ottoman Officer WD / VIAF
Petr Ivanovich Ievlev
male Russian
Otto Henrik (OsipAndreevich) Igelström
male 1737 1817 Russian Count (Russian) / general VIAF
Friedrich Wilhelm Prince of Isenburg and Budingen
male 1730 1804
Andrei Iakovlevich Italinskii
male 1743 1827 Minister in Naples
Mikhail Mikhailovich Izmailov
male 1722 1800
Iziaslav Prince of Polotsk
male 978 1001 Oldest son of Vladimir the Great
François Jacquier
male 1711 1788 Mathematician
Ivan Varfolomeevich Iakobii Якоби (Якобий)
male 1726 1803
Jakovleff
male
Robert James
male 1703 1776 English physician, inventor of a fever powder
Janikli Haji Ali-pacha
male 1720 1785
Teodor Janković-Mirijevski
male 1741 1814 Educational reformer
Gilles-Gervais de La Roche-Loumagne comte de Gensac
male Commander of troops in the fall of Lauterbourg 1740s
Petr Gerasimovich Zharkov
male 1742 1802 painter and miniaturist
Louis Chevalier de Jaucourt
male 1704 1779 Encyclopedist
Thomas Jenkins
male c. 1722 1798 antiquities and art broker who sold pieces to Catherine II via intermediaries
Francis Jimenez
male
Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło) King of Poland
male 1362 1434
John Louis II Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
male 1688 1746 Paternal uncle of Catherine the Great
Johann Friedrich von Medem Count
male 1758 1778
John Paul Jones
male 1747 1792 Scot Naval Officer WD / VIAF Naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. After the was he moved to Paris. Later Catherine invited him to serve in the Russian Navy at the Black Sea. However, he did not live up to the expectations and was dismissed.
Joseph II
male 13 March 1741 (NS), Vienna 20 February 1790 (NS), Vienna Austrian VIAF Met Catherine in 1780, travelling incognito as comte de Falkenstein; he made a very positive impression on her, she frequently alluded with pleasure to their meeting at Mogilev, and an Austrian alliance was concluded the next year. He also joined her on her Crimean tour of 1787. Catherine regarded his education policies as a model: in 1782 Joseph sent F.I. Jankovich de Mirjevo to Russia to help with Russian education reform and oversee the translation of textbooks into Russian.
Karl Christian Joseph, prince of Saxony
male German VIAF Duke of Courland until 1763, when he lost his duchy and his claim to the Russian throne through Catherine's maneuvering.
Frederick Josias Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
male 1737 1815
Joseph Xavier Karl Raphael Philipp Benno Chevalier de Saxe
male 1767 1802
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
male 1762 1833 French statesman, soldier
Juliana Maria Queen of Denmark and Norway
female 1729 1796 Born Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern
Karl Baron Julius
male
Justa Grata Honoria
female
Ali Bey al-Kabir
male 1728 1773 a Mamluk leader in Egypt
Kachkine
male courrier
Vasilii Vasil'evich Kakhovskii
male 1738 1795 Russian Governor WD Namestnik of Ekaterinoslav, 1789-94
Mikhail Vasil'evich Kakhovskii
male 1734 1800
Petr Ivanovich Kalnyshevskii
male 1691 31 October 1803 (NS) Ukranian Cossack WD / VIAF
Kalitschef
male Russian Russian minister
Mikhail Fedotovich Kamenskii
male 1738 12 August 1809 (OS) Russian WD
Count Nikolai Mikhailovich Kamenskii
male 27 December 1776 (OS) 4 May 1811 (OS) Russian General (2nd Rank) WD / VIAF Son of Field Marshal Mikhail Fedotovich Kamenskii.
Lukian Ivanovich Kamynin
male 1720 1788 Russian Privy Counsellor, senator
Sergei Dmitrievich Kantemir
male 1706 1780 Brother of author Antiokh Kantemir
Matvei Dmitrievich Kantemir
male 1703 1771 Brother of author Antiokh Kantemir
Pervul Kantakuzin Первул (Пырвул) the ruler of Wallachia
male 1769 Prozorovsky also mentioned Rodion (Radukan) Kantakuzin, who helped Nazar Karazin.
Karoline Henriette, landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt (die große Landgräfin)
female 9 March 1721 (NS), Straßburg 30 March 1774 (NS), Darmstadt Landgravine (German) WD / VIAF Learned patron of writers including Herder, Wieland, and Goethe. Goethe gave her the name 'the Great' (she is generally known as 'Die Große Landgräfin'). Frederick the Great sent an urn with the inscription 'femina sexo, ingenio vir' ('A woman by sex, a man by spirit') to be placed on her grave. Catherine admired the Landgravine during the latter's visit to Russia in 1773.
KarlIVTheodor, Elector of the Palatinate and Bavaria
male 11 December 1724 (NS) 16 February 1799 (NS), Münich Prince-elector WD / VIAF
Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel
male 9 October 1735 (NS) 10 November 1806 (NS) Duke (German) WD / VIAF His seven children included Auguste Karoline von Württemberg and the future Queen Caroline, wife of George IV.
Karl XII King of Sweden
male 1682 1718 Swedish King of Sweden WD / VIAF Companion-in-arms of Peter the Great. His army was defeated in the battle of Poltava
Kara Mahmud Pasha
male 1749 1796 Ottoman Albanian governor of Scutari (reign 1775-1796)
Karaman Pasha
male 1769 Mentioned in Catherine's letter to Falconet of 15 May 1769. Apparently died in the Russo-Turkish campaign of 1769 near Khotyn.
Nazar Aleksandrovich Karazin
male 1731 1783 Bulgarian Catherine's agent in Turkey. He was granted 500 serfs; settled in Sloboda Ukraine after 1769, married. His son Vasiliy is known as Russian enlightener who founded Kharkov University.
Nikolai Matveevich Karadykin
male 1744 1804
Vasilii Alekseevich Kar
male 1730 1806
Evgenii Petrovich Kashkin
male 1737 1796 Russian Governor-General / General-in-chief (2nd Rank) WD Was governor-general in Perm, Tobolsk, Vologda, Yaroslavl, Kaluga.
Prince Wenzel Anton Kaunitz (von Kaunitz-Rietberg)
male 2 February 1711 (NS), Vienna 27 June 1794 (NS), Mariahilf bei Wien Austrian Diplomat / Chancellor (1st Rank) VIAF
[Maria Anna ] Angelika Kauffman
female 1741 1807 Swiss painter
Ivan Zakharovich Kel'khen
male 1722 1800 Russian / Doctor WD / VIAF
Richard Kempenfelt
male 1718 29 August 1782 British Admiral WD / VIAF
Augustus Keppel Admiral, first viscount Keppel
male 1725 1786
Heinrich Christian von Keyserling
male 1 August 1727 (OS) 21 November 1787 (OS) Baltic German Russian nobility / Diplomat / Writer VIAF In Leipzig entered the Polish Guard and was knightedAfter the death of his father, he tried to advise Catherine on prince Repnin's affairs in Poland, displeased Catherine and had to resign. Wrote several pamphlets and brochures about political affairs in Poland and Courland. Was married to countess Caroline Amalie von Keyserling (née Truchses von Waldburg). Lived in Königsberg until his death.
CountessCaroline Amalie von Keyserling
female 1727 1791 Russian nobility / / Salon Hostess VIAF
Hermann Karl von Keyserling
male 1697 19 September 1764 (OS) German / Russian Diplomat WD Father of Heinrich Christian von Keyserling.
Petr Ivanovich Khanykov
male 1743 1813 rear-admiral in Imperial Russian Navy
Nikolai Konstantinovich Khotinskii
male 1727 1811
Ivan Samoilovich Khorvat
male 1722 1786 Serbian major general
Aleksandr Vasil'evich Khrapovitskii
male 7 March 1749 (OS) 29 December 1801 (OS) Russian State Secretary (Russia) / Freemason WD / VIAF As Catherine's secretary, Khrapovitskii helped her extensively with her literary productions, spending long hours and sleepless nights copying out her plays, correcting her style, and composing verses for her operas.
Iaan Hendrick Kingsberghen
male 1735 1819 Dutch Admiral WD / VIAF Was in the Black Sea fleet during the 1st Russo-Turkish war. Returned home and took part in the war with England and the one that followed the French revolution. Even though Potemkin wanted him to join the Black Sea fleet, Kingsberghen couldn't go back to Russia.
Fedor Ivanovich Kishenskii
male 1744 Russian Colonel (6th Rank) WD
M Kleopin Captain
male referenced in letter 02901. Catherine II presented 2000 rubles.
Adolph Knigge Freiherr
male 1752 1796 German writer, freemason, and illuminati member who wrote using the name Philo
Knorring
male Livonian / Russian General (2nd Rank) WD / VIAF
Charles Knowles 1st Baronet, Admiral Sir
male 1704 1777
Koca Yusuf Pasha
male Ottoman Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire / Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire WD
Friedrich Albert Koch
male 1740 1800
Georg Friedrich Koenig
male German VIAF Sculptor who worked in Austria, England and Russia. Died in the early 19th cent.
Stepan Alekseevich Kolychev
male 15 July 1764 (OS) 14 May 1805 (OS) Member of the Horse Guards / Vice-Chancellor (Russia) / Actual Privy Councillor (2nd Rank) WD
Stepan Stepanovich Kolychev
male 1756 1810
Komarovskii
male courier used by Catherine and Grimm in 1790s
Konstantin Pavlovich
male Russian Grand Duke of Russia WD / VIAF
Mikhail Timofeevich Koniaev captain
male 1727 1789 Hero of the battle of Patras (26-29 October (6-9November) 1772)
Nikolai Ivanovich Korsakov
male 1749 24 August 1788 Russian Engineer / Colonel (6th Rank) One of the best engineers of the Russian Army. Main constructor of Kinburn and Kherson.Both Potemkin and Suvorov held him in high esteem.
Ivan Nikolaevich Rimskii-Korsakov
male 1754 1831 Favourite of Catherine II
Nikolai Andreevich Korff Baron
male 1710 1766
Johann Albrecht von Korff Baron
male 1697 1766
Andrzej Tadeusz Kościuszko
male 1746 1817 Led the Kościuszko Uprising
August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue
male 1761 1819 German dramatist and writer who worked as a consul in Russia
Timofei Gavrilovich Kozlianinov
male March 1798 (OS), Arkhangelsk, Russian Empire Russian Vice-Admiral WD
Grigorii Vasil'evich Kozitskii
male 1725 1775 Latin translator; writer; Catherine's cabinet secretary
Fedor Alekseevich Kozlovskii Prince
male 1740s 1770
Sergei Matveevich Kozmin Козмин, Козьмин, Кузмин
male 1723 1788 State secretary of Catherine II
Ivan Ivanovich Kozlov Active Privy Councilor, General
male
Mikhail Semenovich Kozlovskii Prince
male c. 1700 1767 Governor of Smolensk
Aleksei Semenovich Kozlovskii Prince
male 1707 1776
Mikhail Nikitich Krechetnikov
male 1729 1793
Karl Fedorovich Kruse
male 1727 1799 Doctor at Catherine II's court
Iosif Krute Иосиф Круте
male Interpreter who was held captive by Mustafa III along with the Russian embassador Alexei Obreskov
Aleksandr Ivanovich Kruse
male 1731 1799 vice admiral in Imperial Russian Navy, fought in Russo-Swedish War 1788
Nefed Nikitich Kudriavtsev
male 1676 1774 Vice-Governor of Kazan (1727-1740); Major-General
Aleksandr Borisovich Kurakin Prince
male 1752 1818
Boris-Leontii Aleksandrovich Kurakin Prince
male 1733 1764
Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov
male 5 September 1745 16 April 1813 Russian Field Marshal (non-Russian) / / WD / VIAF Allowed Napoleon to take an adandoned Moscow, which was set on fireBurried at the Kazan Cathedral in Saint-Petersburg
Géraud de La Chau Abbé de La Chau
male 1750 ?
Franz Moritz von Lacy Field marshal
male 1725 1801
Lady
female One of Catherine's dogs, mother to Zelmire
Alexandre-Théodore-Victor comte de Lameth
male 1760 1829 French soldier, politician
Giovanni Battista von Lampi (the Younger)
male 1775 1837 Austrian portrait painter
Lambert
male Possibly Charles de Lambert, a French royalist soldier who joined the Russian forces; He is said to be a count, but Sirio lists him as a marquis?
Laméry acteur de la Troupe de Lyon
male
Égide Louis Edme Josephde Lespinasse, chevalier de Langeac
male French French nobility VIAF
Aleksandr Dmitrievich Lanskoi
male 1758 1784 Russian Favourite WD
Iakov Dmitrievich Lanskoi
male 1764 1790s youngest brother of A D Lanskoy
Vasilii Sergeevich Lanskoi Russian Minister
male 1754 1831 lieutenant colonel, cousin of AD Lanskoy
Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron Count
male 1763 1831 soldier in France, Russia
Ivan Lanskoi
male
Jean-François de Galaup Comte de La Pérouse
male 1741 1788? naval officer
Pierre Henri Larcher
male 1726 1812 classical scholar, archaeologist
Philippe de Lasalle
male 1723 1804 designer and entrepreneur in the 18th Century Silk Trade
Gideon Ernst von Laudon (Loudon)
male 2 February 1717, Tootzen, Livland 14 July 1790, Neutitschein, Mähren Austrian VIAF
Mathieu Paul Louis de Montmorency vicomte de Laval-Montmorency
male 1748 1809
Lavrof
male courrier
Johann Kaspar Lavater
male 1741 1801 Swiss writer, physiognomist, and poet
Erik Gustavovich Laxmann
male 1737 1796 Finnish explorer and naturalist who studied Siberian fauna and attempted to establish relations between Russia and Japan
Adam Erikovich Laxmann
male 1766 c 1806 Finnish military officer and one of the first Russian subjects to go to Japan
Jacques-Gabriel-Louis Le Clerc marquis de Juigné
male 1727 1807 Louis XVI's plenipotentiary minister to Catherine II
Nicolas-Gabriel Le Clerc
male 1726 1798
John Ledyard
male 1751 1789 American explorer arrested by Catherine the Great
Dominique Lefèvre
male 1812 French Dancer WD / VIAF Dancer at the imperial court in St Petersburg.
Fredrik Wilhelm Lejonanker
male 1737 1801 rear admiral for Sweden, captured in Hogland during Russo-Swedish War
Henri-Louis Cain (Lekain or Le Kain)
male 1728 1778 Celebrated actor, described by Karamzin in Letters of a Russian Traveler
François Lemoyne (Le Moine)
male 1688 1737 French painter
Jean Charles Pierre Lenoir
male 1732 1807
Lenchen (Lehnchen)
female Name Catherine II gave to the woman with whom Y. Lanskoy nearly eloped
Leopold II (Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard) Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Duke of Tuscany
male 1747 1792
Leopold III Frederick Franz Duke of Anhalt-Dessau
male 1740 1817
Vasilii Ivanovich Levashov
male c. 1740 1804 Russian WD Friend of Potemkin.Major of the Semenovskii Guards Regiment.Ambassador in Naples.
Dmitrii Grigor'evich Levitskii
male 1735 1822 Russian painter
Aleksandra Petrovna Levshina
female 1757 1782 Lady-in-waiting for Catherine II (until 1780)
Pavel Artem'evich Levashov
male 1719? 1820
Charlotte von Lieven Princess
female 1748 1828 Imperial governess
Charles-JosephLamoral, prince de Ligne
male 23 January 1735 (NS, baptised), Brussels 13 December 1814 (NS), Vienna, Austria Diplomat / Writer / Courtier VIAF
Charles prince de Ligne
male 1759 1792 Son of Prince de Ligne
Andreas Lindemann
male 1730 1787 Obstetrician and professor in St Petersbourg, present at death of Grand Duchess Natal'ia Alekseevna
Sir Lindon
male Dog that Prince Henry of Prussia gave to Catherine
Philipp Daniel Lippert
male 1702 1785 German draughtsman and antiques dealer with an office in Dresden
Livio
male Courier used by Grimm and Catherine, Baccus's replacement
Akim Grigor'evich Lizakevich
male 1742 Diplomat
Vasilii Grigor'evich Lizakevich
male 1737 1815
Joseph Maria Karl, PrinceLobkowitz
male Diplomat / VIAF
Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz Prince
male 1772 1816
John Locke
male 1632 1704 English thinker
G Lohmann
male
Mikhail Vasil'evich Lomonosov
male 1711 1765 Russian scientist and writer, academician
Evdokiia Nikolaevna Orlova-Chesmenskaia (née Lopukhina)
female 1761 1786
Petr Vasil'evich Lopukhin Most Serene Prince
male 1753 1827
Anton Pavlovich Losenko
male 1737 1773 Russian neoclassical painter
Loss Count of Loss
male
Louis XVI
male French King of France WD / VIAF Reigned 10 May 1774-21 September 1792
Louise Frederike duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
female 3 February 1722 (NS), Stuttgart 2 August 1791 (NS), Hamburg Duchess (German) WD / VIAF
Louise princess of Hesse-Darmstadt
female 30 January 1757 (NS), Berlin 14 February 1830 (NS), Weimar German Princess WD / VIAF She visited St. Petersburg with her mother, Landgravine Karoline of Hesse-Darmstadt, and two sisters in 1773. While Catherine saw to Wilhelmine's marriage to Grand Duke Paul, she supported Louise's candidacy for marriage with Gustav III's brother, the duke of Södermanland; the duke married Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotta of Holstein instead.
Louis, prince of Prussia
male 5 November 1773 (NS) 28 December 1796 (NS) German German Prince WD / VIAF Son of the future Friedrich Wilhelm II and his wife, Friederike Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt
Louise Ulrike, Queen of Sweden, née Princess of Prussia
female 24 July 1720 (NS) 16 July 1782 (NS) German / Swedish Queen of Sweden / German Princess WD / VIAF Sister of Frederick the Great and Prince Henry of Prussia, mother of King Gustav III of Sweden.
Louis XIV
male French King of France WD / VIAF Reigned 1643 to 1715.
Louis Ferdinand Dauphin of France
male 1729 1765
Louis Joseph Xavier François Dauphin of France
male 1781 1789
Louis XVIII King of France
male 1755 1824 Louis-Stanislas-Xavier, Comte (count) de Provence
Louis Joseph de Bourbon Prince of Condé
male 1736 1818
Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon Duchess of Orléans
female 1753 1821
Louise Charlotte Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
female 1779 1801 Initially engaged to Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
Ludwig Friedrich Alexander Duke of Württemberg
male 1756 1817
Louis-Henri de Bourbon duc de Bourbon
male 1756 1830
Louis XV
male French King of France WD / VIAF Reigned 1715-1774.
Louis IX (St. Louis)
male 1214 1270
Antoine Louis
male 1723 1792 French surgeon
Philip James de Loutherbourg
male 1740 1812 French-born British painter
Louise Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
female 1756 1808 Daughter of Prince John August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon Princess of Condé
female 1757 1824
Louis XVII King of France
male 1785 1795 Born Louis Charles, Duke of Normandy
Louisa Augusta of Hesse-Darmstadt Princess and Landgravine
female 1757 1830
Jean-Baptiste-Joseph de Lubersac
male 1740 1822 French politician
Wladyslaw Aleksander Lubienski
male 1703 1767
Girolamo Lucchesini
male 7 May 1751 (NS), Lucca 20 October 1825 (NS), Florence Diplomat / Courtier WD / VIAF Much disliked by Catherine for his anti-Russian actions in Poland.
Jean-André Deluc (de Luc)
male 8 February 1727 (NS), Geneva 7 November 1817 (NS), Windsor Writer / Naturalist VIAF Friend of Johann Georg Zimmermann and one of his most important correspondents: Zimmermann's archive contains 120 letters from Deluc, 1775-1778 (Johann Georg Zimmermann: königlich grossbritannischer Leibarzt (1728-1795), p. 225). Deluc made important contributions to geology and meteorology: he argued that water vapour was a gas that expands independently of other gases, a suggestion that helped lead to Dalton's law of partial pressures; his research on determining mountain heights using a barometre contributed to improvements in barometre and thermometre design; and his research worked toward more modern dating of geological strata. In accordance with his Calvinist religious beliefs, he analysed rock layers as evidence of developments from God's initial creation of a chaotic fluid; these geological epochs, in his opinion, corresponded to the six days of Genesis, after which these processes had ceased and Biblical history of the past 5,000-6,000 years began. He opposed Lavoisier and worked on an early kind of battery, which in a later improved version was named the Zamboni pile.
Nicolas Count Luckner
male 1722 1794 German officer in French service who became Marechal of France
Ludwig IX landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
male 12 December 1719 (NS) 06 April 1790 (NS) / Field Marshal (non-Russian) VIAF
LudwigI, Grand Duke of Hesse
male 14 June 1753 (NS) 6 April 1830 (NS) German German Prince VIAF Brother of Grand Duchess Natal'ia Alekseevna and disliked by Catherine. He was engaged briefly to Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg, but the engagement was broken off so that she could marry Catherine's son Paul and become Grand Duchess Mariia Fedorovna. He later married his cousin Luise Henriette Karoline of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Ludwig Karl Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
male 1755 1806 Youngest son of Ernst Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Luka Konashevich
male 1758 Russian Orthodox bishop known for his anti-islamic mission in Kazan
Martin Luther
male 10 November 1483, Eisleben 18 February 1546, Eisleben Theologian VIAF
Ivan Andreevich Lutovinov
male 1707 c. 1778 captain of the Preobrazhensky regiment (in 1768)
Andrei L'vov
male 1751 1823 Russian Officer WD
Nikolai Aleksandrovich L'vov captain
male 1753 1803 Russian poet, architect; was a diplomatic curier at the Collegium (College) of Forein Affairs in the 1770s
Lysias
male
Gabriel Bonnot Abbé de Mably
male 1709 1785 French philosopher
Machkof
male Russian officer
Macartney
male Man who intervened to fight with the the chevalier of Saxony
Antoni Madaliński General
male 1739 1805 General who disobeyed order to demobilize troops and marched to Krakow
Barnabé Augustin de Mailly
male 1732 1793
Nicolas Malebranche
male 1638 1715 French priest and philosopher
Stepan Malyi
male 1773 Slovene One of the 'pretenders,' who called himself Peter III. Ruled Montenegro for four years.
Jacques Mallet du Pan
male 1749 1800
Malstizan
male Baron involved in taking Wawel Castle in Krakow who was taken as a prisoner of war
Pavel Dmitrievich Mansurov
male 1726 1801 Russian General (2nd Rank) / Senator WD Played an important role in suppressing the Pugachev Rebellion.
Maniard
female Unknown reference in letter 04770
Anna Dorothea Morandi Manzolini
female 1716 1774 Sculptor and artist
Mansur Ushurma Sheikh
male 1732 1794 Chechen Islamic leader who led resistance against Catherine's expansion into the Caucasus
Ernst Sébastien von Manstein Russian Lieutenant-Gen.
male 1678 1747 Aide de Camp of Louis XVI
Manfredini
male First minister of the grand duke of Tuscany
Françoise Eléonore de Jean de Manville Countess of Sabran
female 1749 1827
Maria Theresia
female 13 May 1717, Vienna 29 November 1780, Vienna Austrian Holy Roman Empress / Queen of Hungary and Bohemia WD / VIAF Daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. Retained power through the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). Officially co-ruler with her husband Francis I and her son Joseph II, but in fact the only Habsburg female sovereign ruler. Known for her Catholic piety and rejection of Religious toleration.
Mariia Fedorovna grand duchess then empress of Russia
female 25 October 1759 (NS), Stettin 24 October/5 November 1828, St. Petersburg Russian German Princess / Grand Duchess of Russia / Empress of Russia VIAF Sophie was Catherine's first choice for Paul's wife, but she was too young in 1773. Frederick II and his brother, Henry of Prussia, arranged for her to marry Paul after the death of Grand Duchess Natal'ia Alekseevna: her betrothal to Ludwig, prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, was broken and compensated by a 10,000 ruble pension by Catherine. Before their marriage, Paul presented her with an set of instructions on how to behave at court and how to establish an orderly married life. She claimed to love her husband dearly and bore him 10 children. Catherine was quite satisfied with her new daughter-in-law: she wrote to Mme Bielke on 5 September 1776 that 'je suis engouée de cette charmante princesse, mais engouée à la lettre: elle est précisement telle qu'on la voudrait: taille de nimphe, teint de lis et de rose, la plus belle peau du monde, grande et avec de la carrure, elle est légère; la douceur, la bonté de son coeur, la candeur sont répandues sur sa physionomie; tout le monde en est enchanté, et quiconque ne l'aimera pas, aura grand tort, car elle est née et fait tout pour l'être' (SIRIO, xxvii, pp. 117-18). In her later years, she became a bastion of conservatism at the court of her son, Alexander I. (See McGrew, Paul I, 95-104).
Mariia Pavlovna
female 3 February 1786 (OS) Russian Grand Duchess of Russia VIAF
Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, queen of Sardinia
female 1 November 1773 (NS) 29 March 1832 Austrian Archduchess of Austria / Queen of Sardinia WD / VIAF
Marcus Aurelius
male 121 AD 180 AD Roman Emperor VIAF Both a conqueror and the author of a set of famous 'Meditations', Marcus Aurelius was one of the Enlightenment's models of the philosopher king.
Maria Antonia Walburga, electress of Saxony
female 18 July 1724 (NS) 23 April 1780 (NS) German Electress WD / VIAF Born a princess of Bavaria, Maria Antonia married the future Elector Friedrich Christian of Saxony. Highly cultured, she corresponded with Frederick II and Maria Theresa.
Jean-Louis Le Cointe seigneur de Marcillac
male 1729 French
Marie Elisabeth von Holstein-Gottorp Abbess of Quedlinbourg
female 1678 1755
Maria I Francisca Isabel Josefa Antónia Gertrudes Rita Joana Queen of Portugal
female 1734 1816
Martinelli
male Painter working for Catherine
Anton von Maron
male 1733 1808 Painter and brother in law to Mengs @people-men01
Therese Concordia Maron (née Mengs)
female 1725 Artist, elder sister of Mengs, married to Maron, known for pastels and miniatures
Panos Maurutis Maruzzi; Маруцци; Маруций; Марузий marquis
male 1720 1801 Russian diplomat in Venice from 1768-1783.
Marie Antoinette (born Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna) Queen of France
female 1755 1793
Marcel
female French dancer given a sabbatical by Catherine II and Grimm
Maria Carolina Queen of Naples and Sicily
female 1752 1814
Marie Adélaïde Duchess of Louvois
male 1732 1800 Louis XVI's aunt
Mary Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh
female 1776 1857
Vicente Martín y Soler
male 1754 1806 Spanish opera and ballet composer; Invited to St Petersburg by Catherine (she called him Sr Martini)
Maria Christina Duchess of Teschen
female 1742 1798
Maria Augusta Princess of Saxony
female 1782 1863
Antoinette Louise Marchais
female Daughter of Jean-Josephe de La Borde's gardener
Maria Amalia Archduchess
female 1780 1798
Maria Luisa of Spain, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Holy Roman Empress Wife of Leopold II
female 1745 1792
Marchesini
male opera singer
Maria Amalia Duchess of Parma
female 1746 1804
Jean-François Marmontel
male 1723 1799
Alexander Mass Александр Масс second major (1773)
male
Ignacy Jakub Massalski
male 1727 1794 Catholic bishop
Aleksei Mikhailovich Maslov
male 1715 1773
Simeon Matveev
male Chaplain of the Russian Embassy in Paris, 1767-1781
Matveev Матвеев captain
male referenced in letter 02901. Catherine II suggested a promotion.
Angélique-Marie Élisabeth Émilie de Matignon (née Le Tonnelier de Breteuil)
female 1757 1833
Jean-Frédéric de Monrepaus (Maurepas) Count de Monrepaus
male 1701 1781
Paul-Emile de Mauclerc
male 1698 1742 Pastor, French Church Stettin
Nicholas Mavrogenes
male Hospodar or Prince of Wallachia VIAF
Georgakis Mavromichalis
male Greek One of the leaders in the Orlov revolt (17(28) February - 26 May(7 June) 1770)
Constantine Mavrocordatos Prince of Wallachia
male 1711 1769
Maximilien III Joseph Elector of Bavaria
male 1727 1777
Maximilian Francis Archduke of Austria, Elector of Cologne
male 1756 1801
Mayer (Meyer)
male German carpenter who instructed Alexander I and Konstantine I
Jakob Heinrich Meister
male editor of the <i>Correspondence Littéraire</i> after Grimm
Gabriel Sénac de Meilhan
male 1736 1803 French writer who witnessed the start of the French Revolution
Fedor Ivanovich Meknob
male 1737 1791 Russian Colonel (6th Rank) WD Participant of the 1st Russo-Turkish war. Got into an argument with the governor of Kerch Borzov and was brought to court. Potemkin pleaded for him, so instead of prison Meknob was sent to the army.
Petr Ivanovich Melissino
male 1726 1797
Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello Marquis de Pombal
male 1699 1782
Denis Melnikov Денис Мельников
male Was held captive by Mustafa III along with the Russian embassador Alexey Obreskov.
Melon
male French traveler who wrote about travels in Petersbourg
Ivan Ivanovich Melissino
male 1718 1795
Anton Raphael Mengs
male 1728 1779 German-Bohemian painter
Johann von Mestmacher
male 1733 1785 Minister of Russia in Dresden
Prokopii Vasil'evich Meshcherskii Prince
male
Pietro Metastasio
male 1698 1782 Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (real name); Italian poet and librettist
Meyer
male
Kazimir (Gerhard Konrad Kasimir) Ivanovich von Meyendorff Freiherr
male 1749 1813
de Mézière
male author of 'Les Fruits de l'éducation', cited by Falconet.
Mezentsov
male
Joseph Miaczynski
male 1743 1793 Polish general, guillotined in French revolution
Michel
male Steward and close confidant of Betzki, as noted in Correspondance de Falconet avec Catherine II, 1767-1778, avec une introduction et des notes par Louis Réau.
Alexandre Jean Mignot
male 1725 1791 Voltaire's nephew and abbot
Ivan Ivanovich Mikhel'son
male 1740 1807 Russian General (2nd Rank) WD / VIAF Played an important role in suppressing the Pugachev Rebellion.
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov Tsar
male 1596 1645
Ivan (Johann) Ivanovich Möller-Sakomel'skii
male 1725 1790 Officer WD Artillery lieutenant-general.Lopatin asserts that Meller is the correct version of his surname. although both are in use.
Miller
male Called "Chevalier Miller" or "Muller" who seemed to be working on spinning machines
Ivan Milovsky Иван Миловский major
male
Millioti
male 1739 1764 Italian trader
Andrei Stepanovich Miloradovich
male 1727 1796
Honoré GabrielRiqueti, comte de Mirabeau
male 1749 1791 French Writer / Journalist / / Freemason / Diplomat WD / VIAF
Vasilii Iakovlevich Mirovich
male 1740 1764
Mirzazade Seyit Mehmet Sait Efendi
male Grand mufti of the Ottoman Empire, 1770-1773
Michal Jerzy Wandalin Mniszech Count
male 1742 1806
Demetrio I Mocenigo del Zante
male 1723 1793
Jean-Baptiste Moheau
male 1745 1794 French demographer
Molière
male French Playwright VIAF
Ivan Ivanovich Möller-Sakomelsky
male 1725 1790 Russian artillery commander
Armand Marc, comte deMontmorin Saint-Hérem
male French Diplomat / Minister of Foreign Affairs WD / VIAF
Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu
male 18 January 1689 (NS) 10 February 1755 (SNS) French Writer / Philosopher WD / VIAF
Raimondo Montecuccoli
male 1609 1680 Italian-born professional soldier who served the Habsburg Monarchy
Montyou
male French demographer
Montemurli
male Spanish (?) writer whose "Memoires" Grimm passed along to Catherine II at the request of a woman at court Grimm knew
Montriblond
male Offered to buy a collection of paintings from Grimm/Catherine II
José Moñino y Redondo Count of Floridablanca
male 1728 1808
Mathieu Jean Felicité duc de Montmorency-Laval
male 1767 1826 French statesman during the French Revolution
Nikolai Semenovich Mordvinov
male 1754 1845 Russian Admiral / WD / VIAF Son of admiral Semen Ivanovich Mordvinov. Received the Order of St. Anna.
Ivan Mikhailovich Morsoshnikov (Morsochnikov)
male 1717 1785 Treasurer-officer
Jean-Michel Moreau
male 1741 1814 French illustrator and engraver ("Moreau le Jeune")
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
male 1763 1813
Moreau
male Doctor seeking employment in Russian army, a son of Jean Nicolas Moreau (d. 1786), premier chirurgien à l'Hôtel-Dieu
Mikhail Ivanovich Mordvinov
male 1730 1782
Moralı Dervish Mehmed Pasha
male Grand vizir 1775-1777
Semen Ivanovich Mordvinov
male 1701 1777
Friedrich Carl von Moser
male 18 December 1723 (NS) 10 November 1798 (NS) / Writer / German nobility WD / VIAF First minister to Ludwig IX, landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1772-1780), during which time he introduced extensive reforms and sought to save the small state from financial ruin. Since Landgravine Karoline Henriette had encouraged his appointment, her death in 1774 weakened his position at court, where he also faced opposition from important families and from the landgrave's disinterest in his policies. His 'Der Herr und der Diener' (1759) was translated into Russian in 1766.
Moses
male Biblical figure
Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy Countess de la Motte
female 1756 1791 French woman notorious for role in the Affair of the Queen's Necklace
Muhammad $$$ Mahomet @lang-fr
male c. 570 632
Grigorii Ivanovich Mulovskii
male 1758 1789 Russian Naval Officer WD / VIAF Named in Khrapovitskii's diary entry of 6 August 1789 as having died in the Battle of Öland: 'Убит в сражении Капитан бригадирскаго ранга Муловский' ('Captain with the rank of brigadier Mulovskii was killed in the battle') (Khrapovitsky, Dnevnik, p. 302).
Gerhard Friedrich Müller
male 1705 1783 Russian-German historian
Ernst Johann von Münnich
male 1707 1788 Count (Russian) WD / VIAF President of the Commerce College from 1774 until his death in 1788. Son of Burkhard Christoph von Münnich.
Burkhard Christoph von Münnich Marshal
male 1683 1767
John Murray
male 1712 1775
Jean-Bernard Gauthier de Murnan
male 1748 1796 French officer
Morteza Qoli Khan Qajar
male 1750/1755 1798/1800 painted by Borovikovsky
Mustafa III
male 28 January 1717 (NS) 21 January 1774 (NS) Ottoman Sultan of the Ottoman Empire WD / VIAF
Count Valentin Platonovich Musin-Pushkin
male Russian General (2nd Rank) / Count (Russian) WD
Aleksei Vasil'evich Musin-Pushkin
male 1803 Russian Vice-Admiral WD / VIAF
Muhsinzade Mehmed Pasha
male Ottoman Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire December 1771 to August 1774 WD / VIAF
Mustafa-Bey Тешери Фачи Мустафа Бей Эфенди Джани Хаджа Заде ambassador
male
Aleksei Semenovich Musin-Pushkin Count
male 1730 1817
Aleksei Ivanovich Nagaev Admiral
male 1704 1781
AnnaNikitichnaNaryshkina, née Rumiantseva
female 11 February 1730 (OS) 2 February 1820 (OS), St. Petersburg, Russian Empire Russian Courtier WD Naryshkina became friends with Catherine II which she was still grand duchess, since her husband Aleksandr Aleksandrovich was Hofmeister to Grand Duke Paul from 1749. As empress, Catherine frequently visited Naryshkina, both in town and at her dacha at Krasnaya Myza outside St. Petersburg. Naryshkina seems to have been one of the main proponents of Platon Zubov as a replacement for Aleksandr Dmitriev-Mamonov as favourite in 1789.
Lev Aleksandrovich Naryshkin
male 1733 1799 Russian Russian nobility / courtier WD / VIAF One of Catherine's favourite courtiers, known for his jester-like behaviour. According to Catherine's memoirs, as grand duchess she was offered a choice between Lev Naryshkin and Sergei Saltykov as her lover to help her produce an heir: she chose Saltykov. Naryshkin was the butt of many a court joke and the target of Catherine's satirical writings, such as the Léoniana ou Dits et faits de sir Léon Grand Ecuyer recueillis par Ses AmisRelation authentique d'un voyage outre-mer, que sir Léon grand écuyer aurait entrepris par l'avis de ses amis.
Pietro Nardini Italian composer
male 1722 1793 Violinist and composer
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Naryshkin
male 1726 1795 Cupbearer and husband of nar01
Mariia Alekseevna Naryshkina
female 1762 1823
Aleksei Vasil'evich Naryshkin
male 1742 1800
Charles-Henri-Nicolas-Othon, prince ofNassau-Siegen
male 1745, Sénarpont, Somme, France 19 April 1808, Tynna, Russian Empire French Vice-Admiral WD / VIAF
Jacques Necker
male 1732 1804 Minister of State (France) WD / VIAF
Suzanne Necker
female 1737 1794 salonnière, writer
Innokentii Nechaev archbishop of Pskov and Riga
male 1722 1799
Il'ia Vasil'evich Neelov
male 1745 1793 Russian Architect VIAF Developed a building plan for Tsarskoe Selo.His father Vasilii Ivanovich Neelov also was an architect.
Vasilii Iakovlevich Nekliudov
male Preobrazensky regiment, 1768
Corneille-François de Nélis Bishop of Anvers
male 1736 1798
Patrice-François de Neny
male Writer WD / VIAF Author of Mémoires historiques et politiques sur les Pays-Bas autrichiens et sur la constitution tant interne qu'externe des provinces qui la composent, 2 vols (Brussels, 1784).
Ivan Ivanovich Nepliuev
male 1693 1773
Davyd Gavrilovich Neranchich
male 1751 Serb Adjutant of Catherine II. Brother of Semen Gavrilovich Zorich.After the death of his childless uncle general M. F. Zorich, took his surname.
Maximilian Julius Wilhelm Franz Nesselrode Count
male 1724 1810
Nestor the Chronicler
male 1054 1114
Constantijn Netscher
male 1668 1723 Dutch painter
Neubaum
male banker, traveled with M Griff
Aleksandr Nevskii Prince of Novgorod and of Vladimir
male 1220 1263 Canonized by the Orthodox Church in 1547
Isaac Newton
male 1643 1727 Scientist and mathematician
Duca di San Nicolo
male plenipotentiary minister from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Friedrich Christian Nicolai
male 1733 1811 German writer, enlightener
Margaret Nicholson
female 1750 1828 English woman who attacked King George III
Nicholas I Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland
male 1796 1855
Aleksandr Fedorovich Nikiforov
male Diplomat
Louis de Noailles 4th Duke of Noailles
male 1713 1793
Jean-Louis-Paul-François de Noailles 5th Duke of Noailles, previously duc d'Ayen
male 1739 1824
Adrien Maurice de Noailles Marshal of France
male 1678 1766
Baron Nolken
male Swedish WD / VIAF
Arvid Reinhold von Nolcken
male 1732 1802
Johan Fredrik von Nolcken
male 1737 1809
Henri Van der Noot
male 1731 1827 politician
Nostradamus
male 1503 1566
Nikolai Ivanovich Novikov
male 27 April 1744 (OS), Avdotino, Moscow Region, Russian Empire 31 July 1818 (OS), Avdotino, Moscow Region, Russian Empire Russian Writer / Journalist / Publisher / Freemason / Member of the Izmailovskii Guards Regiment WD / VIAF Famous for his journalistic exchange with Catherine's satirical journal, 'Всякая всячина' ('All Sorts'), in 1769, for his prolific output as a writer and as publisher at the Moscow University Press, and for his incarceration in 1792 for Masonic activities.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Novosiltsev
male 1761 1838 Russian statesman and aid to Alexander I
Nural Khan
male
Aleksei Mikhailovich Obreskov
male 1718 1787 Russian Diplomat / Actual State Councillor (4th Rank) / Senator WD / VIAF Received the Order of St. Anna from Catherine the Great
Odin
male
Odintsov
male
Oginskii
male
James Ogilvy 7th Earl of Findlater
male 1750 1811
Andrzej Ignancy Oginski
male 1740 1787
Olaüs
male Courier
Oleg Prince of Novgorod
male 879 912
Ol'ga Pavlovna
female 1792 1795 Fifth daughter of Paul I and Maria Feodorovna, granddaughter of Catherine II
Maria Maddalena Morelli
female 1727 1782 Italian poet known by the pseudonym Corilla Olimpica
Pablo Olivadès Don, Count of Pilos
male 1725 1803 Man targeted in the Inquisition; his struggles were published in the <i>Correspondence Littéraire</i> based on memoirs provided by Diderot
Major-General Olitz
male
Fedor Iakovlevich Olsuf'ev
male 1783 Russian
Adam Vasil'evich Olsuf'ev collector, courtier
male 1721 1784 Russian secretary of state and senator
Romoaldo Braschi-Onesti Cardinal
male 1753 1817 Cardinal and nephew of Pope Pius VI
Orestes mythological figure
male Figure from Greek mythology
Grigorii Grigor'evich Orlov
male 6 October 1734 (OS) 13 April 1783 (OS) Russian Prince (Russia) / Favourite / General (2nd Rank) / VIAF Had four illegitimate children, one of whom was granted nobility after Catherine and prince Paul were vaccinated from him against smallpox
Vasilii Petrovich Orlov
male 1745 1801 Russian Cossack / Officer / General (2nd Rank) WD Was first married to the daughter of Fedor Petrovich Denisov and then to the daughter of Dmitry Ivanovich Ilovaisky
Aleksei Grigor'evich Orlov-Chesmenskii
male 24 September 1737 (OS) (or 1735?) 24 December 1807 (OS) Russian General (2nd Rank) / Naval Officer / Count (Russian) VIAF
Vladimir Grigor'evich Orlov
male 1743 1831 Russian VIAF The youngest brother of Grigorii Orlov. His eldest son Aleksandr died of consumption in Frnace in 1787
Fedor Grigor'evich Orlov
male 1741 1796 Russian VIAF Brother of Grigorii Orlov
Ivan Grigor'evich Orlov
male 1733 1791 The eldest of the Orlov brothers
Louis Philippe Duke d'Orléans
male 1725 1785
Louis Philippe II Duke d'Orléans
male 1747 1793 Called himself Philippe Égalité during the French Revolution
Grigorii Nikitich Orlov
male 1728 1803 Marshal of the Court; Гофмаршал
Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans
female 1676 1744
Anna Orlova-Chesmenskaya
female 1785 1848
Louis Guillouet Count d'Orvilliers
male 1710 1792 French admiral
Marquis of Carmarthen Francis Osborne
male 1751 1799 Minister of Foreign Affairs WD Duke of Leeds
Oskirkov
male
Çenebaz Osmanи Efendi Yenişehirli Osman Efendi
male n.d n.d. represented Ottoman Empire in Focşani.
Count Osterman Andrei Ivanovich
male 9th June 1686, Bochum 31st May 1747 Count (German) VIAF
Carl von der Osten-Sacken Prince
male 1725 1794
Timofei (Dietrich) Ivanovich Osterwald
male 1729 1794 Paul I's teacher
Fabian (Fabian Gottlieb) Vil'gel'movich von der Osten-Sacken
male 1752 1837 Baltic Field Marshal
Ivan Andreevich Ostermann Count
male 1725 1811
Otto II Holy Roman Emperor
male 955 983 Statesman
Ouen Ouang
male Student of Confucius mentioned by Voltaire and known to Catherine II; Catherine jokingly refers to Grimm at Ouen Ouang
Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso
male 43 BCE 17/18 Roman poet
Johan Gabriel Oxenstierna
male 1750 1818 Swedish / Politician / Poet VIAF
François Antoine Pacifique baron de Zuckmantel
male 1715 1779
Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen Count
male 1745 1826
Giovanni Paisiello
male 1740 1816 Italian composer
Cecilia Paisiello (née Pallini)
male wife of Païsiello
Juan de Palafox y Mendoza archbishop of Mexico
male 1600 1659
Peter Simon Pallas
male 1741 1811 Zoologist and geographer, founder of zoology in Russia
Palikoutschi
Courrier and son of a Greek ship captain who served Russia; Pal03's sister served/dressed Catherine
Ivan Ivanovich Panfilov
male 1720 1794 Catherine's confessor
Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin
male 1718, Dantzig 1783 Russian Diplomat / Count (Russian) / Educator / Minister of Foreign Affairs WD / VIAF See David L. Ransel, The Politics of Catherinian Russia: The Panin Party (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1975). Began service in Imperial Horse Guards under Empress Anna. Promoted to kamer-junker after participating as a member of the supporting guards regiments in Empress Elizabeth's coup; attracted the new empress's attentions and proved a threat for the favourite A.G. Razumovsky. When serving in Stockhom, Panin cultivated links with Catherine and the future Peter III's young court via his friend V.E. Adadurov, Catherine's former Russian language teacher and lasting friend; in her correspondence with Charles Hanbury-Williams, Catherine already suggested Panin as a prospective high-ranking minister in 1756. Panin entered into indirect correspondence with Catherine in the late 1750s, so by the time he became oberhofmeister to Grand Duke Paul, he acted also as an official adviser to Catherine. Both admirers of Montesquieu, Catherine and Panin wrote notes on and discussed F.H. Strube de Piermont's Lettres russiennes while she was grand duchess. Panin played an active and indeed directive role in Catherine's coup, although he believed Paul, not Catherine, to be the legitimate successor to Peter III, whose threats to disinherit Paul and policies aimed at reducing the Russian nobility's influence in government equally threatened Panin and his policy aims. According to David Ransel, 'during the mid 1760s Panin served as Catherine's most trusted minister, a man in charge of a vast range of affairs that he conducted with the full support and collaboration of the empress' (The Politics of Catherinian Russia, p. 177). Not only was he responsible for the education of Catherine's son Paul, but he was also minister of foreign affairs; entrusted with arrangements for many of Catherine's health and education policies, including her own inoculation for smallpox; helped manage the Admiralty Collegium and various questions of commerce; and was informed of all secret matters. His fall from power began in 1769, when the Turkish War bankrupted his overarching foreign policy scheme, the 'Northern Accord' (an alliance with Prussia, Denmark, Great Britain, Sweden, Poland, and Saxony, against Austria and France). He then lost a great deal of security and influence at Grand Duke Paul's majority and as a consequence of the court intrigues surrounding this event. When his Northern Accord was finally laid to rest in 1781, with an Austrian alliance signed and G.A. Potemkin's hold on influence and power solidly established for several years already, Panin retired from government, although he retained his title as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Count Petr Ivanovich Panin
male 1721 15 April 1789 Russian Senator / General (2nd Rank) / Count (Russian) VIAF General, senator, younger brother of Nikita Panin. In the early years of Catherine's reign, he worked on an army reform in the aftermath of the Seven Years' War, helped design the administration of Novorossiya, and examined the problem of fugitive serfs (Robert E. Jones, The Emancipation of the Russian Nobility, pp. 199-200). While Catherine initially respected Panin's honesty in criticism, she soon developed a personal distaste for him that eventually led to his retirement (Ransel, The Politics of Catherinian Russia: The Panin Party, p. 109). Upon retiring to Moscow in 1770, Panin became a leader of the 'Moscow opposition', nobles and bureaucrats who verbally attacked Catherine's court and thus aroused her anger (Ransel, The Politics of Catherinian Russia, p. 199). After the death of A.I. Bibikov, he was put in charge of the forces assigned to quell the Pugachev Rebellion, with Aleksandr Suvorov as his second in command. In August 1774, Panin issued a proclamation announcing harsh reprisals against all participants. He defended himself against Pavel Potemkin's accusations of inhumane cruelty by arguing that harsh punishments on a large scale were the best means to dispel false rumours that he had defected to Pugachev's cause. He was one of the most outspoken in favour of an exemplary and brutal punishment for Pugachev; although named as one of the judges in the case, he absented himself, claiming illness. The Panins' ambitions for power disquieted Catherine, and she sought to keep their close alliance with her son, the future Paul I, in check.
St. Pantaleon/Panteleimon
male Saint VIAF
Aleksandra Ivanovna Kurakina (née Panina) Countess
male 1711 1786 Sister of N.I. Panin
Giovanni Paolo Panini
male 1691/92 1765 Italian painter
Charles-Joseph Panckoucke
male 1736 1798 publisher
Jean-Baptiste Le Paon
male 1738 1785 French painter
Filippo Antonio Pasquale Paoli Паскаль Паоли
male 1725 1807 Corsican patriot
Paracelsus
male 1493/94 1541 Swiss alchemist and physician
Petr Ivanovich Pastukhov
male 1733 1799 Writer, translator, senator, and Catherine II's cabinet secretary
Petr Bogdanovich Passek
male 1736 1804
Paul I emperor of Russia
male 20 September/1 October 1754 11 March 1801 Russian Grand Duke of Russia / Emperor of Russia WD / VIAF Son of Catherine the Great and Peter III, although there have long been serious doubts as to whether Catherine's lover Sergei Vasil'evich Saltykov was in fact Paul's father. Catherine encouraged such doubts by recounting in her memoirs how her chief stewardess Maria Semenovna Choglokova, at Empress Elizabeth's instigation, gave her the option of taking Sergei Saltykov or Lev Aleksandrovich Naryshkin as a lover to ensure the birth of an heir to the throne. Paul was taken away from Catherine at birth to be raised under Elizabeth's supervision.
Pauli
male Banker in Lubeck
Paul Heinrich Karl Friedrich Prince of Württemberg
male 1785 1852
Pavlof
male courier used in the 1790s by Catherine and Grimm
Pedro Clemente Francisco José António King of Portugal
male 1717 1786 King of Portugal, youngest brother of Maria I's father
Pellerin
male
Baron de Pellemberg
male Features in letter 02770
Algernon Percy 1st Earl of Beverley
male 1750 1830
Afanasii Petrovich Perfil'ev Афанасий Петрович Перфильев
male 1731 1775 Yaik cossack
Johann Anton von Pergen
male 1724 1814 Diplomat and statesman for Austria/Holy Roman Empire
Ivan Borisovich Pestel'
male Russian Director of Posts VIAF Director of the Moscow posts from 1789 to 1798.
Peter the Great
male Russian Emperor of Russia VIAF
Peter Friedrich Ludwig prince of Holstein-Gottorp Peter I, grand duke of Oldenburg
male 17 January 1755 (NS) 21 May 1829 (NS), Wiesbaden German Prince WD / VIAF Son of Georg Ludwig of Holstein-Gottorp and Sophie Charlotte, duchess of Holstein-Beck. Younger brother of Wilhelm August of Holstein-Gottorp. Catherine's cousin on her mother's side. Raised by Catherine.
Peter Friedrich Wilhelm, prince of Holstein-Gottorp
male 3 January 1754 (NS), Eutin 2 July 1823 (NS), Plön German Prince WD / VIAF
PeterIII, emperor of Russia
male 10 February 1728 (OS) 6 July 1762 (OS) VIAF Catherine's cousin, born Karl Peter Ulrich von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf. The marriage was not a happy one, and Catherine paints a very negative portrait of him in her memoirs.
Ivan Ivanovich Petushin
male Greek A messenger between Nikita Panin and Mavromichalis. Referenced in letter 02853
Peter the Wild Boy
male 1713 1785
Jean Louis Pettremand
male
Peter August Friedrich Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck
male 1697 1775
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Peutling
male 1739 1795
Sophie Albertine Pfitznerin
female French Unidentified French émigrée, residing in Frienstedt bei Erfurt in 1789.
Pharamond
male Legendary early king of the Franks
Phaon
male Figure from Greek mythology, supposedly loved by Sappho
Philippine Charlotte of Prussia, duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
female Duchess (German) WD / VIAF Sister of Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia.
François-André Danican Philidor
male 1726 1795 French composer and chess player
Philip V King of Spain
male 1683 1746
Phidias
male 480BC 430BC Greek Greek sculptor
Philinte
male Character in Molière's <i>Le Misanthrope</i>
François Pierre Pictet
male 1728 1798 Secretary to Catherine II, acquaintance of Voltaire
Jean-Charles Pichegru
male 1761 1804 French general
Giovanni Pikler
male 1734 1791 Italian-German artist who engraved gems and stones
Ivan Alferovich Pil'
male 1801 Governor-general of Irkutsk and Kolyvan'
Nicolas Pineau
male 1684 1754 architect
Pindar
male 518 BCE 438 BCE
Manuel Pinto de Fonseca
male 1681 1773
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
male 1720 1778 Italian architect and engraver
Alexis Piron
male 1689 1773 dramatist
William Pitt the Younger
male 28 May 1759 (NS) 23 January 1806 (NS) British Prime Minister of Great Britain / / Member of Parliament (Great Britain) WD / VIAF
William Pitt 1st Earl of Chatham, Prime Minister of Great Britain Pitt the Elder
male 1708 1778
Pittacus
male Greek general and sage
MetropolitanPlaton (PetrGeorgievichLevshin)
male 29 June 1737 (OS), Chashnikovo village, Russian Empire 11 November 1812 (OS), Bethany, Russian Empire Russian Metropolitan / Writer / Scholar / Educator WD / VIAF
Matvei Ivanovich Platov
male 1751 1818 / General (2nd Rank) / VIAF Leader of the Cossack army against Napoleon. Distinguished himself in the attacks on Ochakov and Izmail.Paul I dismissed him from the army and put him in the Peter and Paul fortress
Plato
male 427BCE 347BCE Greek philosopher
Konstanty Ludwik Plater
male 1722 1778
Plutarch
male
Pochel
male Entertainment / theatre businessman - as noted in Correspondance de Falconet avec Catherine II, 1767-1778, avec une introduction et des notes par Louis Réau.
Gabriel Jan Podoski
male 1719 1777
Reinhold Wilhlem von Pohlmann Major-general
male 1727 1795 soldier, friend of the Empress, and caretaker of Zelmire at Lohde
Antoine Alexandre Henri Poinsinet
male 1735 1769 librettist
Poignardini
male Poignardini appears repeatedly in Voltaire’s writings to designate criminal Jesuits.
Vasilii Ipat’evich Polianskii
male 1742 1800 priest, freethinker
Stanislas August Poniatowski
male 17 January 1732 (NS) 12 February 1798 (NS) Polish King of Poland 1764 to 1795 / Diplomat / Favourite VIAF
Józef Poniatowski Prince
male 1763 1813 Nephew of the King of Poland, Marshal of the French Empire
Pons marquise de Pons
female Presumably the wife or daughter of Louis Marc Pons, marquis de Pons (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6053213)
Vasilii Stepanovich Popov
male 1745 5 November 1822 (OS) Russian Officer / Civil Service / Actual Privy Councillor (2nd Rank) WD / VIAF 1740 and 1743 are other possible years of birthTrusted assistant to Grigorii Potemkin. Maintained Potemkin's correspondence with Suvorov, Ushakov, Kutuzov, and others. After the death of Potemkin, he was responsible for Catherine's cabinet and held ministerial posts. In disgrace under Paul I, he entered the State Council under Alexander I.
Pope Clement XIV Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli
male 1705 1774
Pope Pius VI Giannangelo Braschi
male 1717 1799
William Henry CavendishCavendish-Bentinck, thirdduke of Portland
male 14 April 1738 (NS) 30 October 1809 (NS), Bulstrode, England British / Prime Minister of Great Britain / Member of Parliament (Great Britain) VIAF Leader of the Whig Party during Catherine's lifetime. Later became a Tory.
Carlo Antonio Porporati
male 1741 1816 Italian painter
Anna Porphyrogenita
female 989 1011 Greek/Byzantine princess who married Vladimir the Great
Fredrik Arvidson Posse
male 1757 1814 Swede / General (2nd Rank) WD / VIAF
Most Serene Prince Grigorii Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavricheskii
male 30 September 1739 (OS) 5 October 1791 (OS) Russian General Field Marshal (1st Rank) / Governor-General / favourite / Prince (Russia) / Member of the Cavalier Guards WD / VIAF Became Catherine's lover in early 1774. Long after their affair had ended, Potemkin remained Catherine's most trusted advisor and became a military commander in her second Russo-Turkish War (1787-1792) and governor of her newly acquired southern provinces. Catherine's range of salutations for Potemkin include: 'My golden pheasant', 'Dearest Pigeon', 'Kitten', 'Little dog', 'Papa', 'Twin Soul', 'Little parrot', 'Grisha', 'Grishenka', 'Cossack', 'Muscovite', 'Lion in the jungle', 'Tiger', 'Giaour (infidel)', 'My good sir', 'Prince', 'Your Excellency', 'Your Serene Highness', 'General', and 'My sweet beauty to whom no king can compare'. He suffered from prolonged, episodic bouts of hypochondria and melancholy, which gave rise to numerous anecdotes about his eccentric behaviour.
Count Pavel Sergeevich Potemkin
male 27 June 1743 (OS) 29 March 1796 (OS) Russian General (2nd Rank) WD / VIAF General and relative of Grigorii Potemkin, fought in both of Catherine's Russo-Turkish Wars, led investigations during and following the Pugachev Rebellion. Participated in the journals published by Mikhail Kheraskov in Moscow in the 1760s; author of the dramas 'Россы в Архипелаге', 'Торжество дружбы', and 'Хельмира и Смелон, или взятие Измаила'; translator of works by Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Once Grigorii Potemkin came to power, Pavel Sergeevich was promoted to gentleman of the chamber and honorary captain of the Semenovskii Guards Regiment. During and following the Pugachev Rebellion, representing Catherine personally in the affected areas, Potemkin was in charge of the Secret Commissions in Kazan' and Orenburg, of the troops around Kazan', and of the Kazan' gubernia (since the governor was too ill to perform his functions).
Stanislaw Szczesny Feliks Potocki
male Polish General (2nd Rank) / / Polish nobility WD / VIAF
Mikhail Sergeevich Potemkin
male 1744 1791 Russian Lieutenant General (3rd Rank) WD
Ignace Potocki
male 1750 1809 politician
Nikolai Alekseevich Potapov
male 1731 1798
Nicolas Poussin
male 1594 1665 French painter
Illarion Afanas'evich Povalishin Vice-admiral
male 1739 1799 rear-admiral of the Russian navy during Russo-Swedish war 1788-1790
François-Emmanuel Guignard comte de Saint-Priest
male 12 March 1735, Grenoble, France 26 February 1821, Lyon, France French Diplomat / Minister of State (France) VIAF Becomes chevalier de Malte at age 4. Fought in Seven Years' War. Personally disliked by the minister of Foreign Affairs, Vergennes, and feeling that his services were being ignored, Saint-Priest in 1783 wrote a note to Vergennes indicating how difficult it was for him to push the Turks to oppose his benefactress, Catherine the Great. The note provoked some murmuring at court, and at the start of 1784 Saint-Priest was recalled from Constantinople. His close ties with Russia harmed his chances of succeeding Vergennes as foreign minister in 1787 (the comte de Montmorin received the post instead). His three sons, Emmanuel, Armand, and Louis entered Russian service; Armand married a Princess Golitsyn and became governor of Odessa and Podolia. (Nicolas Mietton, 'Introduction', in Comte de Saint-Priest, Mémoires, pp. 7-32).
Constance Wilhelmine de Saint-Priest Countess
female 1752 1807 French spy and diplomat; active in Sweden
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Prozorovskii Prince Field Marshal
male 1733 1809
Anna Stepanovna Protasova
female 1745 1826 lady-in-waiting, confidant of Catherine the Great
Stepan Fedorovich Protasov
male 1703 1767
S. Iu. Pushkov Colonel
male
Emel'ian Ivanovich Pugachev
male c. 1740, Zimoveisk, a village on the Don 11 January 1775, Moscow Russian Cossack / Soldier WD / VIAF Served against Prussia in the Seven Years' War. Participated in the siege of Bender during the first Russo-Turkish War of Catherine's reign. Left the army, became a troublemaker, visited Poland and an Old Believer settlement on the Volga. Returning from his visit to the Yaik in November 1772, Pugachev was arrested in the village of Malykovska, sent to Kazan for investigation, and sentenced to be knouted and sent to Siberia. Although Catherine confirmed his sentence, Pugachev escaped and fled to join fugitive Yaik Cossacks.
Casimir Pulaski
male 1745 1779
Petr Ivanovich Pushchin
male 1723 1812 Russian Admiral / Senator WD
Pylades
male Figure from Greek mythology
Pyrrhus
male 319/318 BC 272 BC Ancient Greek soldier
Qianlong Emperor of China
male 1711 1799
Geronimo (Giacomo) Quarenghi
male 1744 1817 architect
François Quesnay
male 1694 1774 Doctor/surgeon of the marquise de Pompadour, economist, and founder of the Physiocratic school
Angelo Quirini
male 1721 1796
Léonard Racle
male 1736 1791 French architect
Jean Racine
male 1639 1699 dramatist
Stanislav Radziwil Prince the Pious
male 1734 1790 Polish
Helena Radziwiłł
female 1753 1821 Briefly a lady in waiting to Catherine the Great
Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł Prince
male 1775 1833
Karol Stanislaw Radziwill Prince
male 1734 1790
Michal Kazimierz Radziwill Prince
male 1702 1762
Girolamo Ranuzzi
male 1724 1784 Count and senator in Bologna
Raphael
male 1483 1520 Italian Renaissance painter and architect
Paul de Rapin Thoyras/ Thoiras
male 1661 1725
Jacques Benjamin de Rapin Thoyras/Thoiras
male 1708 1763
Raymond V Count of Toulouse
male 1134 1194 Also a character in a Sedaine drama
Guillaume Thomas François Raynal
male 1713 1796 French writer known for his <i>Histoire des deux Indes</i>
Kirill Grigor'evich Razumovskii
male 1728 1803 Russian Count (Russian) / General Field Marshal (1st Rank) / Hetman VIAF
Andrei Kirillovich Razumovskii
male 22 October 1752 (OS) 11 September 1836 (OS) Russian Diplomat / Prince (Russia) VIAF Was friendly with Grand Duke Paul.Son of Kirill Grigor'evich Razumovskii. He lived abroad in 1760s and studied at Strasbourg University. He was married twice: to Countess Elizaveta Osipovna Tun-Gogenshtein (born in 1770, died 11 December 1806) and from 1816 to Countess Konstantina-Dominika Iosifovna Tyurgeym, under whose influence he converted to Catholicism before his death.
Elizaveta Kirillovna Razumovskaia (by marriage, Apraksina)
female 1749 1813 Russian Courtier / Lady-in-waiting
César Vichard de Saint-Réal
male 1643 1692 French writer
Vasilii Mikhailovich Rebinder
male 1730 после 1800 Russian / German
Ivan (Reinhold Johann) Mikhailovich Rebinder (von Rehbinder)
male 1733 1792
IvanGrigor'evich von Reck
male 1737 1795 General (2nd Rank) WD Was in charge of the troops defending Kinburn.
Elisa von der Recke (née von Medem)
female 1754 1833
Ivan Andreevich Reinsdorp
male 1730 1782 Russian Lieutenant General (3rd Rank) / Governor-General WD
Reimbert
male French merchant in Russia. Mentioned in letter 04770
Johann Friedrich Reiffenstein
male 1719 1793
Johann Friedrich Reichardt
male 1752 1814 German composer
Johann Dietrich von Rennenkampff
male 1719 1781
Nikolai Vasil'evich Repnin
male 11 March 1734 (OS) 12 May 1801 (OS) Russian Prince (Russia) / Member of the Preobrazhenskii Guards Regiment / Member of the Izmailovskii Guards Regiment / General Field Marshal (1st Rank) / Diplomat / Freemason / Governor-General WD / VIAF
Jean François Paul de Gondi Cardinal de Retz
male 1613 1679
Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm
male 1756 1813 de facto regent of Sweden after assassination of Gustav III
Suzanne-Françoise-Élisabeth de La Reynière (née de Jarente)
female 1736 1815 Salon hostess
Giovanni Battista Rezzonico
male 1740 1783
Abdur Rezak Reis-Efendi
male
Andreas von Riaucour
male 1722 1794 Diplomat in Saxon service
José de Ribas i Boyons
male Spanish Admiral WD / VIAF Founder of Odessa.
Jean-François de Ribaupierre
male 27 August 1754 (baptised), Roles, Vaud (Switzerland) 11 December 1790 (OS), Izmail Swiss Officer / Courtier WD Friend and confidant of Catherine's favourite, Aleksandr Matveevich Dmitriev-Mamonov. Well received at court, where Catherine called him 'Dieu du silence' ('God of Silence') for his quiet demeanour. He and Catherine remained on good terms despite his involvement in the intrigue between Dmitriev-Mamonov and Darya Shcherbatova that led to their marriage on 1 July 1789. His wife held a salon with guests including Count Ségur and Count Cobenzl.
AgrafenaAleksandrovna de Ribaupierre, née Bibikova
female 17 February 1755 (OS) 23 June 1812 (OS) Russian Salon Hostess Daughter of General Aleksandr Il'ich Bibikov and wife of Jean-François François (Ivan Stepanovich) de Ribaupierre.
Aleksandr Ivanovich Ribaupierre
male 1781 1865 diplomat, banker
Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis 3rd duc de Richelieu
male 1696 1788
Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis duc de Richelieu
male 1766 1822
Baron Volprecht Hermann Friedrich Riedesel zu Eisenbach
male 1732 1785 Officer / Baron (German) Close advisor of Landgraf Ludwig IX of Hesse-Darmstadt. He traveled to St. Petersburg in the entourage of Landgravine Karoline of Hesse-Darmstadt and her daughters, including Grand Duke Paul's first wife, Natal'ia Alekseevna.
Henri Rieu
male 1721 1787 correspondent of Voltaire
Jacques Rilliet
male 1732 1813 Genevan banker
Giovanni Maria Riminaldi
male 1718 1789 Italian Roman Catholic cardinal, art collector, and friend of Mengs
Antonio Rinaldi
male 1709 1794 Italian architect
Victor Maurice de Riquet de Caraman-Chimay comte de Caraman
male 1727 1807 French diplomat
Augustin Christian Ritt
male 1765 1799 Painter/miniaturist; Brother in law of Sosie, Catherine's butler
Pierre-Paul Mercier de la Rivière
male 1719 1801 French Writer WD / VIAF Physiocrat
Georgii Rizo Георгий/Григорий Ризо
male Greek lieutenant; second major
Jean-Baptiste-René Robinet
male 1735 1820 French naturalist who worked on editions of the Encyclopedie and was appointed Royal Censor for France in 1778
Hubert Robert
male 1733 1808 Painter
Maximilien François Marie Isidore Robespierre
male 1758 1794 French revolutionary leader
Sophie von La Roche (née Gutermann)
female 1730 1807 German writer
Marquise Madame de la Rochelambert
female French emigre Catherine wanted Grimm to find
George Brydges Rodney Admiral
male 1718 1792 British naval officer known for battles in American War of Independence
Count Rodriguès
male letter 02932 - unable to find information
Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers
male 1736 1788 Flemish goldsmith and silversmith in Paris, from whose family Catherine ordered a silver service in 1770
Johann Georg Roellig
male Catherine II's childhood music teacher
Abraham Roentgen
male 1711 1793 German cabinet-maker
David Roentgen
male 1743 1807 German cabinet-maker
John Samuel Rogerson
male 1741 1823 Scottish Doctor WD / VIAF Catherine's court doctor.
Victoire Armande Josèphe de Rohan Princess of Guéméné
female 1743 1807 royal governess
Louis René Édouard de Rohan Cardinal de Rohan
male 1734 1803 Cardinal who was embroiled in the affair of the Queen's necklace
Louis Antoine Auguste de Rohan-Chabot 6th duke of Rohan
male 1733 1807 Married to Élisabeth Louise de La Rochefoucauld
Marie Louise de Rohan
female 1720 1803 Known as Madame de Marsan, governess of Louis XVI
Emmanuel Marie des Neiges de Rohan-Polduc Fra'
male 1725 1797
Ivaia Rokasovkii Rokusovskii
male Russian
Louis de Roll Baron
male 1750 Adjutant to Charles X (as count d'artois)
Giulio Romano
male 1499 1546 Italian painter
Romanos I Lekapenos
male 870 948 Byzantine Emperor
Charles Gilbert Romme
male 1750 1795 French politician and writer
Romanos II
male 938 963 Byzantine Emperor, father of Anna Porphyrogenita
Ivan Romanovich Rontsov Rantsov
male Russian Brother of count S. R. Vorontsov and a sidewind son of count R. I. Vorontsov who was delegated to London in April 1780
Alexander Roslin
male 1718 1793 Swedish portrait painter who likely painted Catherine II between 1775 and 1777
Jean-Baptiste-François Rossignol
male French consul in St Petersburg, 1764-1770
Ekaterina Petrovna Rostopchina (née Protasova) Countess
female 1776 1859 writer and wife of the governor-general of Moscow
Michael Rose
male
Pietro Rotari
male 1707 1762 Italian painter at the court of Elizabeth Petrovna
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
male 1712 1778 Genevan philosopher
Magdalena Rudenschöld Countess
male 1766 1823 Swedish countess who conspired to overthrow the regency of Duke Charles
Claude-Carloman de Rulhière
male 1734 1791 man of letters
Field-Marshal Count Petr Aleksandrovich Rumiantsev-Zadunaiskii
male 4 January 1725 (OS), Moscow 8 December 1796 (OS), Tashan, Kiev region, Ukraine Russian Field Marshal (non-Russian) / Governor-General VIAF Gained renown as general in Seven Years' War. Played a leading role in the Russo-Turkish Wars of 1768-1774 and 1787-1792. Had three sons, Mikhail, Nikolai, and Sergei.
Mikhail Petrovich Rumiantsev
male 1751 1811 Russian Count (Russian) / Officer VIAF
Nikolai Petrovich Rumiantsev
male 1754 1826 Russian Russian nobility / Diplomat VIAF Son of Petr Aleksandrovich Rumiantsev, was mentored by Friedrich Melchior Grimm.
Sergei Petrovich Rumiantsev
male 1755 1838 Russian Russian nobility / Diplomat WD Son of Petr Aleksandrovich Rumiantsev, was mentored by Friedrich Melchior Grimm.
Ekaterina Mikhailovna Rumiantseva
female 1724 1779 lady in waiting
Rurik Prince
male c. 830 879 Varangian chieftain, prince of Ladoga and Novgorod
Ivan Ivanovich Rusanov
male c. 1753 1814 Russian Secretary to General Musin-Pushkin his 'письмоводец'. Recalled in November 1789 as a sign of Catherine's intention to remove Musin-Pushkin from command of Russian armies in Finland during the war with Sweden. Recommending his recall on 9 November 1789, Grigorii Potemkin wrote to Catherine: 'Чему быть доброму, когда водит армию секретарь' (Ekaterina II i G.A. Potemkin, p. 383).
Nikita Ivanovich Ryleev
male 1749 1808
Seweryn Rzewuski
male 1743 1811
Adam Wawrzyniec Rzewuski
male 1760 1825
Aleksei Andreevich Rzhevskii
male 1737 1804 Active Privy Councillor
Iwan Rzyczewski
male 1703
Antoine Sabatier de Castres
male 1742 1817 French journalist
Saillant
male chevalier Saillant, involved in siege of Wawel Castle and taken prisoner
Sergei Vasil'evich Saltykov
male Russian Favourite / Diplomat VIAF
Kaspar von Saldern
male 11 July 1711 (NS), Apenrade 31 October 1786 (NS) Diplomat WD / VIAF Saldern carried out Russian negociations for the exchange of Holstein that took place in 1773, by which Catherine's son Paul ceded the duchy of Holstein (which he had inherited from his deceased father) to Denmark in exchange for Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, which he then ceded again to Frederick Augustus, coadjutor of Lübeck. In the winter preceding these events, Saldern obtained Paul's signature on an authorisation to set up a coregency between Paul and his mother. Paul, however, confessed the affair to Catherine, and Saldern returned to Holstein forever.
Nikolai Ivanovich Saltykov
male Russian Educator VIAF
Ivan Petrovich Saltykov
male 1730 14 November 1805 (OS) Russian Count (Russian) / General (2nd Rank) / General Field Marshal (1st Rank) WD
Petr Semenovich Saltykov
male 1698 1772
Samuel
male WD / VIAF Biblical figure.
Aleksandr Nikolaevich Samoilov
male 1744 1814 Russian General (2nd Rank) / Member of the Semenovskii Guards Regiment / Count (Russian) / VIAF Nephew of Grigorii Potemkin. Thought to have been present at Catherine's secret wedding with Potemkin.
Samoîlevitsch
male Doctor recommended to Catherine
Andrei Afanas'evich Samborskii
male 1732 1815
Sancho Panza
male Character in Don Quixote (Cervantes Saavedra) and Sancho Panca dans son ile (Poinsinet)
Gaspare Santini
male Banker in Rome
Jean Baptiste Prevost de Sansac marquis de Traversay
male 1754 1831
Sandoz
male Swiss watchmaker working in St Petersburg
Sappho
female Ancient Greek poet
Giuseppi Sarti
male 1729 1802 Italian opera composer
Saugi
male Courier used by Grimm and Catherine
Ludwig Karl Freiherr von Schrautenbach
male 18 February 1724 (NS) 12 August 1783 (NS) German nobility / Writer WD Follower and biographer of Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, founder and bishop of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine (Moravian Church). Accompanied Landgravine Karoline Henriette of Hesse-Darmstadt to Russia in 1773-1774 and was therefore known to Catherine. Praised by Johann Georg Zimmermann in Über die Einsamkeit (Carlsruhe, 1785, iv, pp. 231-32; Frankfurt and Leipzig, 1785, iv, p. 221), a book so much beloved by Catherine that it induced the empress to begin a six-year correspondence with Zimmermann.
BaronWilhelmVasil'evich von Schultz
male Officer WD
Gottlob Ludwig Count of Schoenberg
male 1726 1791
Schroeder
male envoy of Friedrich Wilhelm Karl/Karl Ferdinand in the dealings with Zelmire
Schlaff
male secretary of the ambassador who received orders to published the declaration of war against Sweden in 1788
Schmidt
male Englishman frequently with Gustav III during the Russo-Swedish War 1788
Friedrich Wilhelm von der Schulenburg-Kehnert Count Schulenburg
male 1742 1815 German/Prussian politician
Charles Schweizer
male Friend of Grimm who delivered letters to/from Catherine
Schwerin Count Schwerin
male Squire to Gusatv IV
Jean-Baptiste Secondat baron de La Brède
male 1716 1796 French naturalist and agronomist, son of Montesquieu
Michel-Jean Sedaine
male French Playwright WD / VIAF
Louis Philippe comte de Ségur
10 December 1753 (NS), Paris, France 27 August 1830 (NS), Paris, France French Officer / Diplomat / Writer WD / VIAF Contributed five plays to the 'Recueil des pièces de l'Hermitage'. Author of many historical, dramatic, and poetic works. His 'Mémoires ou Souvenirs politiques' ('Memoirs, or Political Recollections'), including portrayals of Catherine and her court, appeared in 1824, at which time his 'Complete Works' ('Œuvres complètes') in 33 volumes began to appear.
Antoinette Elisabeth Marie, comtesse deSégur, née d'Aguesseau
1756 1828 French
Philippe Henri marquis de Ségur
male 1724 1801 Marshal of France
Selim III
male 1762 1808 Ottoman Sultan of the Ottoman Empire VIAF Son of Sultan Mustapha III and nephew of Sultan Abdul Hamid I.
Aleksei Naumovich Seniavin (Siniavin) admiral
male 1722 1797
Seneca
male
Seraphim II patriarch of Constantinople
male 1690s 1779
Maria Adelaide del Carretto di Camerano Duchess of Serracapriola
female 1787
Lorenza Seraphina Feliciani
female 1751 1794
Baron Petr Pavlovich Shafirov
male 1669 1 March 1739 (OS) Russian Diplomat / Baron (Russian) / Translator / Writer VIAF Son of a Jew from Smolensk, Shafir, who was captured by the Russians, converted to Christianity (christened Pavel Filippovich), served in the Posolskii prikaz (equivalent of the foreign ministry), engaged in commerce, and was eventually ennobled under Tsar Fedor Alekseevich. Petr Shafirov received a good education, learning Latin, French, German, Dutch, and Polish. He picked up Italian when serving as a diplomat in the Ottoman Empire. His extensive correspondence with Peter I survives. He was one of the first to introduce ciphered correspondence into Russian diplomatic practice. He translated several historical and historical 'calendars' and authored a 'Дедикация, или приношение царевичу Петру II о делах его величества государя Петра I' ('Dedication, or Offering to the Tsarevich Peter II on the Affairs of His Majesty Peter I'), and 'Рассуждения, какие законные причины его царское величестое Петр Первый, царь и повелитель всероссийский и протчая, и протчая, и протчая, к начатию войны против короля Карола XII Шведского 1700 году' ('Considerations on the legal reasons that His Tsarist Majesty, Tsar and Master of All Russia etc., etc., etc., had to begin the war against Charles XII of Sweden in the year 1700') (written 1716, twice reprinted in 1722). The latter work was one of the first to use the word 'революция' ('revolution') and the word 'гражданин' in its modern sense of 'citizen'.
Shagin-Girey
male Kalga Sultan (Crimea) / khan of Crimea WD
Aleksei Iakovlevich Shakhovskoi
male 1789 (1791?) Russian Courtier Действительный камергер (actual chamberlain). Listed by Catherine as a member of her Hermitage.
Shah Baham
male Character in Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon's <i>Le Sopha, conte moral</i> (1742)
Nader Shah
male 1688 1747 Shah of Iran
William Shakespeare
male 1564 1614 English dramatist
Dar'ia Fedorovna Shcherbatova
female 1762 1801 Russian Courtier
Feodosii Fedorovich Shchedrin
male 1751 1825 Russian sculptor
Evdokim Alekseevich Shcherbinin
male 1728 1783
Fedor Pavlovich Shcherbatov Prince
male 1749 1810
Fedor Fedorovich Shcherbatov Prince
male 1731 1791
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
male 20 October 1751 (NS) 7 July 1816 (NS) British Writer / Poet / Playwright / Member of Parliament (Great Britain) VIAF
Ulrik Scheffer
male 1716 1799 / Minister of Foreign Affairs WD / VIAF
Petr Borisovich Sheremetev
male 1713 1788 Russian VIAF Son of Field-Marshal Boris Sheremetev from his second marriage. Married the richest bride in Russia - the daughter of prince A. M. Cherkassky
Anna Petrovna Sheremeteva
female 1744 1768 N. I. Panin's fiancée
Tinatin Shervashidze
female First wife of Solomon I of Imereti
Nikolai Lavrent'evich Shetnev
male 1720 after 1780
Shishkova
female Referred by Catherine in 1762 as "old lady", starukha
Andrei Petrovich Shuvalov
male 1743 1789
Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov
male 1727 1797 founder of the University of Moscow and curator of the Academy of Arts in St Petersburg
Ekaterina Petrovna Shuvalova (née Saltykova) Countess
female 1743 1817
Iakov Efimovich Sievers
male 19 August 1731 (OS), Wesenberg, Estland 11 July 1808 (OS), Bauenhoff, Estland Russian Count (Russian) / Governor VIAF Sievers was one of Catherine's primary advisors on her 1775 reform of provincial government (Учреждения для управления губерний всероссийской империи). He advocated improvements in the condition of the serfs, especially providing them with legal protections against landowner power. He and Catherine corresponded intensively about her legislative projects and his efforts on the ground in the provinces; their exchange continued even after his resignation in 1781. A few days before his death, he is said to have burned 300-400 letters from Catherine, claiming that he owed it to the empress's memory to do so (Blum, Des Grafen Jakov Johann Sievers Denkwürdigkeiten, iv, p. 650).
Stanislaw Bohusz Siestrzeńcewicz Metropolitan
male 1731 1826 first bishop of Mogilev
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès abbé
male 1748 1836 clergyman and political writer, prominent during French Revolution
Karl Eduard Efimovich von Sievers Count
male 1710 1774/1775
Silahdar Mehmed Pasha
male Ottoman Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire WD
Ivan Matveevich Simolin
male 1720 1799 Russian Diplomat WD / VIAF
Barthélémy Guillaume Simon
male
Simon III de Montfort Comte d'Envreux
male c. 1128 1181 Crusader who defeated Raymond III of Aragon
Simeon I Catholicos of All Armenians
male 1710 1780
Fredrik Carl Sinclair
male 17 October 1723 11 May 1776 Swedish WD
Sineus
male Brother of Rurik
Pierre-Paul Sirven
male 1709 1777 One of Voltaire's causes célèbres
EkaterinaVasil'evnaSkavronskaia, née Engelhardt
female 1761 1829 Russian Countess (Russian) WD Niece of Prince Potemkin. Second marriage with count Giulio Litta
Gavriil Ivanovich Skorodumov
male 1755 1792 Russian engraver who worked for Robert Sayer and then at Catherine II's court
Jason Smogorzewski Bishop
male 1717 1779
Mikhail Grigor'evich Sobakin
male 1720 1773 Poet, Privy Counsellor
Socrates
male Greek philosopher
Petr Aleksandrovich Soimonov
male Russian WD / VIAF
Anastasiia Ivanovna de Ribas (née Sokolova)
female 1741 1822 an illegitimate daughter of Betskoi and a favorite lady-in-waiting of Catherine
CountVictor Friedrich von Solms-Sonnenwalde
male 16 September 1730 (NS) 24 December 1783 (NS) Prussian Diplomat WD / VIAF
Joseph Solano
male Spanish man targeted by the Inquisition
Solomon I King of Imereti
male 1735 1784
Soloviev Baron
male captan of the Preobrazensky regiment (in 1768)
Sophia Magdalena Queen of Sweden
female 1746 1813
Sophocles
male ancient Greek playwright
Sophia Matilda Princess of the United Kingdom
female 1777 1848
Sophie Auguste Duchess consort of Saxe-Weimar (née Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst)
female 1663 1694
Sophie Friederike Karoline Luise Countess of Mensdorff-Pouilly (née Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld)
female 1778 1835
Sophie Antoinette Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (née of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel)
female 1724 1802
Robert de Sorbon
male 1201 1274 Founder of the Sorbonne
Sosie
male Catherine II's favorite butler
George Spencer 4th Duke of Marlborough
male 1739 1817
Grigorii Andreevich Spiridov Admiral
male 1713 1790 Russian
Anton von Spielmann Freiherr
male 1738 1813 Prussian diplomat who worked on the Reichenbach treaty and had known revolutionary tendencies
Georg (Göran) Magnus Sprengtporten
male 16 August 1740, Porvoo parish 13 October 1819, St. Petersburg, Russia Swedish Officer / Diplomat / Count (Russian) WD / VIAF Half-brother of Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten. The two brothers spread use of the 'Sprengtporten rifle', aneasier-to-handle weapon, amongst Swedish light-armed forces. Thought to have played a large role in the 'Valhalla' order, founded in Sveaborg and composed of officers and nobles interested in Enlightenment literature and in the defense of noble privileges.
Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten
male Swedish WD / VIAF Half-brother of Göran Magnus Sprengtporten.
Johan Vilhelm Sprengtporten
male Swedish WD
CountGustav Ernst von Stackelberg
male 5 June 1766 (OS), Reval/Tallinn, Estonia 1850, Paris, France Diplomat VIAF
CountOtto Magnus von Stackelberg
male 1736 1800 Diplomat / Count (Russian) VIAF
CountGustav Ernst von Stackelberg
male 1766 1850 Russian Member of the Cavalier Guards WD / VIAF
Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein, née Necker
female 22 April 1766 (NS) 14 July 1817 (NS) Writer WD / VIAF
Ivan Egorovich Starov
male 1745 1808 architect
Erik Magnus von Staël-Holstein
male 1749 1802 Swedish Ambassador to France; married to Jacques Necker's daughter Anne Germaine, better known as Mme de Staël
Aleksandr Stakhievich Stakhiev
male 1724 1794
Anastasiia Mikhailovna Shcherbinina (née Dashkova)
female 1760 1831 daughter of Princess Dashkova
Mikhail Mikhailovich Shcherbatov Prince
male 1733 1790
Kurt Bogislaus Ludvig Kristoffer von Stedingk
male 26 October 1746 (NS) 7 January 1837 (NS) Swedish Diplomat / Officer WD / VIAF
Stephen I King Saint
male 975 1038
Laurence Sterne
male 1713 1768 Author of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, frequently referenced by Catherine the Great
Karl Wilhelm Stosch
male 1744 1810 Prince Henry's doctor
Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg-Stolberg
male 1750 1819 German German lawyer, poet, translator
Stepan Fedorovich Strekalov
male Russian Senator / State Secretary (Russia) / Actual Privy Councillor (2nd Rank) WD Catherine put him in charge of her court theatre. However, he fell short of Catherine's expectations, as she noted in her letter from 1789, and got the theatre into debt.
Simeon Ignat'evich Stragorodskii Bishop Sil'vestr
male 1725 1802 Abbot of the Resurrection Monastery
Aleksandr Sergeevich Stroganov Count
male 1733 1811
Aleksei Alekseevich Stupishin
male 1722 1786 Russian
Styx
male Russian courier for Cat and Grimm; sometimes spelled Stix
Pierre André de Suffren de Saint-Tropez, le bailli de Suffren
male 17 July 1729 (NS) 8 December 1788 (SNS) French Admiral / Knight of Malta WD / VIAF
Maximilien de Béthune Duke de Sully
male 1560 1641
August Kazimierz Sułkowski
male 1729 1786 Polish Politician in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Aleksandr Petrovich Sumarokov
male 1717 1777 Russian poet and playwright
Richard Sutherland Baron
male 1739 1791 Court banker
Aleksandr Vasil'evich Suvorov-Rymnikskii
male 13 November 1730 (OS), Moscow, Russian Empire 6 May 1800 (OS), St. Petersburg, Russian Empire Russian General Field Marshal (1st Rank) / Count (Russian) / Prince (Russia) WD / VIAF Generalissimus. His victories over Polish forces, for which he was promoted to the rank of major-general, led to the first partition of Poland (1772). He secured his pre-eminence with his campaigns against the Turks in 1773-1774 and went on to conduct highly successful and often bloody campaigns against the Ottoman Empire and Poland. Under Paul I he fought against the French Revolutionary army in Italy and Switzerland.
Natal'ia Aleksandrovna Zubova (née Suvorova)
female 1775 1844 married to Nikolai Zubov
Vasilii Ivanovich Suvorov General
male 1705 1775 Father of Generalissimus A. V. Suvorov
Sviatoslav I Igorevich
male Russian Prince (Russia) WD / VIAF Kievan Prince of the 10th century
Angelo Talassi
male 1745 after 1804 Italian poet and actor
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord Bishop of Autun
male 1754 1838
Ivan Luk'ianovich Talyzin
male 1700 1777
Tamerlan
male WD / VIAF
Vasilii Stepanovich Tamara
male 1740 1813 Russian / WD Active participant in the negotiations with Heraclius II
Vicar General and Bishop of Tarbes
male
Tarakanova Princess
female 1745(1753) 1775 Pretender to the Russian throne--real name unknown
James Tassie
male 1735 1799 English jeweller
Torquato Tasso
male 1544 1595 Italian poet
Vasilii Nikitich Tatishchev
male Russian Historian / Writer WD / VIAF
Evert Taube
male 1737 1799 Swedish General (2nd Rank) WD / VIAF General-adjutant of Gustav III
Teimuraz II king of Kakheti
male 1680/1700 1762
Petr Abramovich Tekelli-Popovich
male 1720 1793 Serbian General-in-chief (2nd Rank) WD
Telemachus
male Greek mythological character
Grigorii Nikolaevich Teplov
male 1717 1779
Ivan Terskoi
male Russian Naval Officer / Member of the Preobrazhenskii Guards Regiment
Teresa of Avila Saint
female 1515 1582
Joseph-Marie de la Teyssonnière (Treissonière)
male 1742 after 1802
Willem Theyls
male Dutch Diplomat / Writer VIAF
Theodora Empress
female 527 548 Wife of Justinian I
Theocritus
male 315BCE 260BCE Hellenistic poet
Theophrastus
male 370BC 286 ancient Greek philosopher
Anna Dorothea Therbusch (née Lisiewska)
female 1721 1782 painter, botanist
George Thier
male
Sir Thomas Anderson
male British An English greyhound given to Catherine by Dr. Thomas Dimsdale, who inoculated Catherine and her son Paul against smallpox.
Jacques Thouron
male 1739/1749 1789 Painter and miniaturist
Moritz August von Thümmel
male 1738 1817 German writer
Johann Amadeus Thugut
male 1736 1818
Hans Heinrich von Tiesenhausen Count
male 1741 1815 Married to Catherine, born Princess von Stackelberg, father of Ferdinand von Tiesenhausen (aide de camp to Alexander I)
Ludwig Philipp Tischbein
male 1744 1806 Architect and set designer
Johann Clemens Tode
male 1736 1805 Surgeon present at the death of the Grand Duchess
Luísa Rosa Todi (née de Aguiar)
female 1753 1833 Portuguese opera singer
Francesco Saverio Todi
male Italian violinist and husband of singer Luisa Todi
Count Petr Andreevich Tolstoi
male 1645 30 January 1729 (OS), Solovetsky Monastery, Russian Empire Russian Officer / Diplomat / Courtier / Count (Russian) VIAF
Fedor Nikolaevich Tol'
male Russian Moscow Chief of Police Chief of police in Moscow from 1785 to 1790.
Fedor Matveevich Tolstoi
male 1748 27 December 1789 Russian Major (8th Rank) WD
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo 3rd Duke of Alba
male 1507 1582
Stefano Torelli
male 1712 1784 Italian painter from Bologne
della Torre Marquis
male minister of Spain at the Russian court
François de Tott
male 1733 1793 French Officer VIAF French representative in the Crimea and in Constantinople, who advised the Turks on fortifications, on the modernization of their artillery units, and on intelligence matters in the Dardanelles, and acted as an agent provocateur during the first Russo-Turkish War of Catherine's reign (1768-1774). His Mémoires du Baron de Tott sur les Turcs et les Tartares were published in four volumes in Amsterdam in 1784 and 1785. Repeatedly mocked in the letters between Catherine and Voltaire. Voltaire dubbed him a 'protecteur de Moustapha et de l'Alcoran' (6 July 1771, D17283) and then accuses Tott of instigating the Pugachev Rebellion: 'C'est apparemment le chevalier de Tott qui fait jouer cette farce' (2 March 1774, D18831). Catherine denied that Pugachev had any foreign support and projected self-confidence in both conflicts she faced in 1774: 'Monsieur, Il n'i a que les gazettes qui font beaucoup de bruit du brigand Pougatschef, lequel pour sûr n'est en relation direct ni indirecte avec Mr du Thot. Je fais autant de cas des canons fondu par l'un que des entreprises de l'autre. Mr Pougatschef et Mr du Thot cependant ont cela de comun que l'un tout les jours frise la corde de chanvre tandis que l'autre est exposé à un cordon de soye' (15/26 March 1774, D18874). Corresponded with Voltaire: in the two surviving letters, Voltaire thanked Tott for anecdotes about Turkey (23 April 1767, D14137) and then, almost 10 years later, reproached him for serving the Turks against Catherine: 'Je fus votre voisin, il y a quelques années; ce n'était pas chez les Turcs que vous étiez alors. Vous avez, depuis ce temps, fait la guerre à mon autocratrice pour des sultans qui ne la valaient pas' (22 September 1776, D20311).
Gottlob Heinrich Curt von Totleben
male 1715 1773
Toutolmine
male courier who carried a special package for Catherine the Great
Fedor Osipovich Tumanskii
male 1757? 1810 Historian who wrote on the life of St Alexander
Tommaso Traetta
male 1727 1779 Italian opera composer
Christian Ivanovich Trousson
male 15 March 1742 (OS), Koblenz 8 March 1813 (OS), St. Petersburg, Russian Empire Officer WD
Théodore Tronchin
male 1709 1781 Genevan physician who was an elected member of the Academy of Sciences in Petersburg
François Tronchin
male 1704 1798
Giacomo Trombara
male 1741 1811 Italian architect
Dmitrii Prokof'evich Troshchinskii
male 1749 1829
Truvor
male Brother of Rurik
Pavel Dmitrievich Tsitsianov
male 1754 1806
Pavel Aleksandrovich Tsyzarev
male Russian Naval Officer / Member of the Preobrazhenskii Guards Regiment
Ivan Petrovich Tiufiakine alt Tufiakine
male 1740 1804
Egor Andreevich Tunzelmann
male 1736 Russian Colonel (6th Rank) WD
Petr Ivanovich Turchaninov
male 1746 1823 Russian Lieutenant General (3rd Rank) / State Secretary (Russia) VIAF
Anne Robert Jacques Turgot Baron de l'Aulne
male 1727 1781 French economist and statesman
Turlonia
male banker
de Turpin Baron de Turpin
male French engineer
Timofei Ivanovich Tutolmin
male 1740 1809
Robert Udny
male 1725 1802 Scottish merchant and art collector
Odysseus
male
Christoph Unterberger
male 1732 1798
Aleksandr Vasil'evich Urusov Major-General Prince
male 1729 1813
Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov
male 13 February 1745 02 October 1817 Russian Admiral VIAF
Vaganof
male Translor hanged by the pasha of Akkerman
de Valour
male Involved in the siege of Wawel Castle and taken prisoner
Louis-Michel Van Loo
male 1707 1771
Jean-Baptiste van Loo
male 1684 1745 French subject and portrait painter
Charles-André (Carle) Van Loo
male 1705 1765 French painter, younger brother of van02
Abel-François-Nicolas Caroillon de Vandeul
male 1746 1813 Diderot's son in law
Marie-Anne Caroillon "Minette" de Vandeul
female c 1773 1784 Diderot's granddaughter
Marie Angélique (née Diderot) de Vandeul
female 1753 1824 Diderot's daughter
Aleksandr Semenovich Vasil'chikov
male 1746 1804 Catherine's favourite
Veniamin Metropolitan
male 1706 1785 Born Vasilii Grigor'evich Putsek-Grigorovich
Charles Olivier de Saint-Georges 4th Marquis de Vérac
male 1743 1828
Petr Petrovich Veselitskii
male 1711 1786 Russian State Secretary (Russia)
Aleksandr Alekseevich Viazemskii
male 1727 1793 Procurator general of the Senate from 1764 to 1792
PrinzViktor Amadeus von Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym
male 2 May 1744 19 April 1790 Officer / German Prince WD / VIAF As she wrote to Grigorii Potemkin on 19 October 1789, Catherine considered naming Viktor Amadeus to replace the unsuccessful Count Musin-Pushkin as the commander-in-chief in Finland, but the Prince of Anhalt was too junior as a mere general-lieutenant. Catherine's secretary Khrapovitsky noted in his diary on 23 April 1790: 'Плакали о принце Ангальте. Опасение, чтобы не убили принца Нассау' ('Cried for the prince of Anhalt. Fears that the Prince of Nassau will get killed'). Khrapovitsky noted further grief at the detailed news of Russian losses, received on 25 April. She wrote to Potemkin on 8 June 1790 that she was writing to Anhalt's older brother, the reigning Prince Karl Ludwig of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg, to ensure that his wife and mother were provided for.
Victor Emmanuel I
male 24 July 1759 (NS) 10 January 1824 King of Sardinia 1802 to 1821 VIAF
Vittorio Amedeo III king of Sardinia
male 1726 1796
Victoire Louise Marie Thérèse de France Madame Quatrième, Madame Victoire
female 1733 1799 Louis XVI's aunt
Charlot/Charles de Villiers
male Had fled to England to escape wife's creditors, recommended by sculptor Lemoyne. See Correspondance de Falconet avec Catherine II, 1767-1778, ed. Louis Réau (Paris, 1921), p. 59
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve
male 1756 1794 French writer and mayor of Paris
Joseph Nikolaus de Vins
male 1732 1798 Austrian general
Charles du Houx baron de Vioménil
male 1734 1827 Marechal of France
Virgil
male Roman poet VIAF
François Marie Joseph de Viry
male 1737 1813 Ambassador
Jean Guillaume Virchaux
male
Vittorio Amedeo II king of Sardinia
male 1666 1732 Previously duke of Savoy and king of Sicily
Vladimir Saint the Great
male 980 1015
Danilo Petrovich Vlas'ev
male
Fedor Matveevich Voeikov
male 1703 1778
Mark Ivanovich Voinovich
male 1750 1807 Dalmatian / Admiral WD During the war 1768-1774 joined the Russian Navy.
Ivan Vasil'evich Voinovich Count
male 1791
Voltaire(François-MarieArouet)
male 21 November 1694 (NS), Paris 30 May 1778 (NS), Paris French Writer / Playwright / Poet / Philosopher VIAF
Mikhail Nikitich Volkonskii
male 9 October 1713 (OS) 8 December 1788 (OS) Russian prince / diplomat / governor-general of Moscow / member of the Preobrazhenskii Guards / General (2nd Rank) VIAF Nephew of Russian chancellor under Empress Elizabeth, Aleksei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Riumin.
Giovanni Volpato
male 1735 1803 Italian engraver and arts dealer
Constantin François de Chassebœuf comte de Volney
male 1757 1820
Dmitrii Vasil'evich Volkov
male 1727 1785
Petr Volkov
male Captain in the Preobrazhenskii Regiment
Semen Romanovich Vorontsov
male Diplomat / Officer VIAF Brother of Princess Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova.
Aleksandr Romanovich Vorontsov
male 1741 1805 Count (Russian) / Diplomat VIAF
Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov
male 1714 1767 Russian Chancellor (1st Rank) WD / VIAF
Anna Karlovna Vorontsova (née Skavronskaia) Countess
female 1722 1776
Aleksandr Alekseevich Viazemskii
male 03 August 1727 (OS) 08 January 1793 (OS) Russian General Procurator VIAF
Vysheslav Prince of Novgorod
male 977 1010
Claes Adam Wachtmeister Admiral
male 1755 1828 Swedish commander of Sweden's naval fleet
Friedrich Wagner
male Lutheran pastor / Educator The young Sophie Auguste's tutor in religion.
Jean-Louis Wagnière
male 1740 1802 Voltaire's secretary from 1756
Robert Walpole 1st Earl of Orford
male 1676 1745 art collector
George Walpole 3rd Earl of Orford
male 1730 1791 British adminstrator who sold his father's (wal01) art collection to Catherine II
Ernest/Arnost Wanzura/Vancura
male 1750 (?) 1802 Czech Composer VIAF Czech composer who wrote the music for Catherine's comic opera, 'Courageous and Brave Knight Akhrideich'
François-Gabriel Le Fournier Marquis de Wargemont
male
Charles Watson-Wentworth 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
male 1730 1782 Prime Minister of Great Britain
Giovanni Battista Weder
male Cameo artist
Johann Jakob Weitbrecht
male 1744 1803 Publisher VIAF
Melchior Adam Weikard
male 1742 1803 German doctor and philosopher
Otto Adolf Weismann von Weißenstein
male 1726 1773 soldier
Johann Adam Weishaupt
male 1748 1830 German philosopher, founder of the Illuminati, wrote as Spartacus
Wenk
male German editor
Ivan Ivanovich Veimarn General Hans Heinrich von Weymarn
male 1718/1722 1792
Wiazewicz Abbot
male Polish abbot and protege of Caroline-Stéphanie-Félicité du Crest de Saint-Aubin
Natal'iaAlekseevna, Grand Duchess of Russia
female 14/25 June 1755, Prenzlau, Germany (then Prussia) 15/26 April 1776, St Petersburg, Russia German / Russian German Princess / Grand Duchess of Russia VIAF Catherine's initial reaction to Natal'ia after her marriage to Paul was very positive: the empress wrote to Mme Bielke on 9 February 1774 that Landgravine Karoline of Hesse-Darmstadt 'm'a laissé une femme d'or, sa fille la grande-duchesse; cette jeune princesse est douée des qualités les plus solides; j'en suis extrêmement contente; son mari l'adore, et tout le monde l'aime' (SIRIO, xiii, p. 388). But by 21 December 1774, Catherine wrote in a very different tone to Grimm: the grand duchess 'est presque toujours malade, mais aussi comment ne pas l'être? tout est à l'excès chez cette dame-là [...] en un mot, il n'y a jusqu'ici ni aménité, ni prudence, ni sagesse à tout cela, et Dieu sait ce que cela deviendra, puisqu'on n'écoute personne et qu'on a tête décidée à soi. Imaginez-vous que depuis un an et demi et plus on ne parle pas un mot encore de la langue; nous voulons qu'on nous apprenne, mais nous ne donnons pas un moment d'application par journée à la chose; tout est toupillage; nous ne pouvons pas souffrir ceci ou cela; nous sommes endetté au delà deux fois de ce que nous avons, et nous avons cependant ce que guère quelqu'un en Europe a.' Natal'ia's headstrong ways seemed to pose a political threat to Catherine, as the combination of Paul's adoration for his wife with her headstrong ways suggested that she could push Paul to challenge Catherine's hold on power. However, Natal'ia discredited herself by an apparent, though not proven, affair with Paul's close friend Andrei Razumovsky. She died in childbirth on 15/26 April 1776: a spinal deformity made her incapable of giving birth, and it has been suggested that she was (intentionally or not, depending on accounts) given insufficient medical attention during the birth. The child also did not survive. (See McGrew, Paul I, pp. 89-93.)
Wilhelm August prince of Holstein-Gottorp
male 18 January 1753 (NS) 1774 German Prince VIAF Son of Georg Ludwig of Holstein-Gottorp and Sophie Charlotte, duchess of Holstein-Beck. Elder brother of Peter Friedrich Ludwig of Holstein-Gottorp. Catherine's cousin on her mother's side. Raised by Catherine.
WilliamV, prince of Orange-Nassau
male 1748 1806 Dutch Stadtholder of the United Provinces WD / VIAF
Jonathan Wild
male 1682/3 1725 English criminal
William Prince of Hesse-Philipsthal
male 1726 1810 General in the Dutch army, governor of Herzogenbusch
Madame Wilde
female One of three ladies who initially accompanied Zelmire to Estonia
William I Landgrave of Hesse
male 1743 1821
Wilhelmina Princess of Prussia (née princess of Hesse-Kassel)
female 1726 1808
Félix Louis de Wimpffen General
male 1744 1814 Member of the Assemblée Nationale
Iakov Wolff Baron
male
Andrei (Heinrich Johann) Ivanovich von Wrangell Freiherr
male 1736 1813
Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
male 1724 1797 Austrian marshal
Francisco Javier Antonio Pascual Bernardo Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Aniello Julian of Naples and Sicily
male 1757 1771
Yassin Zade Effendi Яссин-Заде-Эффенди
male Negotiator in Focsani in 1772
Nikolai Borisovich Iusupov
male 1750 1831 Russian Senator VIAF Collector of art and books.
Nikolai Borisovich Iusupov Prince
male 1750 1831
Ivan Aleksandrovich Zaborovskii
male 1735 1817 Russian Actual Privy Councillor (2nd Rank) / Senator / Colonel (6th Rank) / Governor WD Head a regiment of Hussars during the first Russo-Turkish War, he received the Order of St. George, Fourth Class, for his role in the Balkans. He later rejected the young Napoleon's application to join the Russian Navy.
Józef Zajaczek Prince
male 1752 1826
Domenico Zampieri Italian painter
male 1581 1641 Known as Domenichino
Francesco Zambeccari
male 1756 1812 Italian balloonist
Petr Vasil'evich Zavadovskii
1739 10 January 1812 (OS), St. Petersburg, Russian Empire Russian Favourite / Officer / Senator / Courtier / Count (Russian) VIAF From a minor Ukrainian noble family of Polish extraction. He and his older brother, Ivan, were initially raised by their Cossack maternal uncle, Shirai. Then they attended school at Orsha, before Petr Zavadovsky enrolled in the Kiev Academy, where he learned Russian and Latin classical literature. He probably became cabinet secretary in 1775 not for his attractiveness, but rather for the clear style of the reports he had composed for Rumiantsev. His assistance became necessary as Catherine's former secretary Grigorii Kozitsky retired just as she wanted to complete the reform of provincial administration promulgated on 7 November 1775. After their relatively brief romance, Catherine continued to employ Zavadovsky in a range of responsible administrative posts: he was Director of the state Bank for the Nobility and of the State Assignat Bank, a member of the commission of public schools, and appointed guardian of Catherine's son Aleksey Bobrinsky. He also reformed the Imperial Corps of Pages, contributed to foudning the Medical-Surgical Academy, and oversaw the construction of Catherine's estate at Tsaritsyno and of St. Isaac's Cathedral. In the 1790s, he opposed an alliance with Great Britain against Revolutionary France and supported the partitions of Poland. At his estate of 'Lialichi', renamed 'Ekaterinindar', he constructed a neoclassical mansion containing 250 rooms and a library of 3,750 books. Received from Paul I the Orders of St. Andrew, St. Anna, and St. John of Jerusalem.
Johann Christoph von Zegelin
male German Diplomat WD
Zemira Zémire
female Catherine II's dog
Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann
male 8 December 1728 (NS) 7 October 1795 (NS) Doctor / Writer VIAF Catherine initiated a correspondence with Zimmermann after reading his On Solitude, which helped her recover from her grief at the sudden death of her beloved favourite Aleksandr Dmitrievich Lanskoy in summer 1784. Zimmermann subsequently helped to arrange for publication of Catherine's trilogy of anti-Masonic plays in German translation. He also recruited a few dozen German doctors to serve in Russia, especially in the newly acquired southern territories like the Crimea. Catherine shared with Zimmermann information about her Crimean tour in 1787 and about her wars with Sweden and the Ottoman Empire, in hopes of spreading a Russia-friendly version of events in Germany. Towards the end of the correspondence, Zimmermann, who virulently opposed the French Revolution, sought to gain Catherine's support for a counter-revolutionary journal and other related projects.
Ekaterina Nikolaevna Zinov'eva Princess Orlova
female 1758 1781 Grigorii Orlov's wife
Stepan Stepanovich Zinov'ev
male 1740 1794
Semen Gavrilovich Zorich
male 1743 1799 Russian / Serbian Favourite / Lieutenant General (3rd Rank) WD After Catherine's death returned him to the army but Zorich quickly became immersed in debt.
Major Zoucato
male letter 02932 - unable to find information
Valerian Aleksandrovich Zubov
male 28 November 1771 (OS) 21 June 1804 (OS) Russian General (2nd Rank) / Member of the Horse Guards / Count (Russian) WD / VIAF
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Zubov
male 24 April 1763 (OS) 9 August 1805 (OS) Russian Member of the Horse Guards / Officer / Count (Russian) WD Elder brother of Catherine's last favourite, Platon Aleksandrovich Zubov. Began service in the Horse Guards.
Platon Aleksandrovich Zubov
male 15 November 1767 (OS) 7 April 1822 (OS), Ruhenthal, Courland Russian courtier / favourite / member of the Horse Guards / Cavalier Guardsman / count / prince VIAF Catherine's last favourite. Although he was purported to be poorly educated, he spoke good French and played the violin. He is believed to have been put forward as Catherine's new favourite by Nikolai Saltykov, Anna Naryshkina, Anna Protasova, and Mariia Perekusikhina. He was the first favourite not chosen by Grigorii Potemkin in 15 years. After the death of Potemkin in October 1791, Zubov played an increasingly important role in the administration, taking over several of Potemkin's roles such as General of Ordnance, Director-General of the Engineer Corps, Governor-General of New Russia and the Tauride, and commander of the Black Sea Fleet. He also received many similar rewards: a diamond-encrusted portrait of Catherine, the Orders of St. Andrew, St. Aleksandr Nevskii, and St. Vladimir, and other foreign honours. He is thought to have remained loyal in his love for Catherine until his death. In his later years, Zubov fathered four children by Sofya Przyszylonska, who were treated as legitimate and given the surname of Platonov, and also perhaps some children given the surname of Nevedomsky. Widely disliked, regarded as scheming and corrupt, and held responsible for some of Catherine's apparently 'reactionary' decisions in her later years.

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