August Friedrich Eichel
August Friedrich Eichel (born October 5, 1698 in Berlin , † February 3, 1768 in Potsdam ) was a Prussian cabinet councilor who held an influential position in the cabinet , especially under Friedrich II , but about whom little personal information is known.
Life
Eichel was the son of August Eichel, sergeant in the Potsdam Leibcompanie , and Ursula Elisabeth Eichel, nee. Schmiedigke, cook in the Cadet Corps. Together with the later Grand Chancellor Philipp Joseph von Jariges , with whom he had a lifelong friendship, he attended the cathedral school in Halberstadt . From 1719 he studied law in Halle .
After a job as chamber secretary in Halberstadt, after Friedrich Wilhelm I became aware of him, in May 1730 he became a Prussian cabinet secretary with the rank of a war council and mainly worked on military matters. In the trial after the Crown Prince's attempt to escape in August 1730, he kept the record. Later he was promoted to cabinet council.
After Friedrich II took office, Eichel was awarded the title of Privy Council of War on July 16, 1740. He dealt with a large part of the foreign policy correspondence, became a confidante of Frederick II and thus one of the most influential men in the state. Like other cabinet councilors, all of whom were also recruited from the bourgeoisie, he was never ennobled. He also accompanied the king during the war and was captured by Austria in the Battle of Thrush in 1745 . However, he was released the next day along with other key officials.
Despite his low salary, Eichel managed to acquire a considerable fortune, which gave rise to numerous rumors and speculation. Possibly he benefited from coin business. When he died in 1768, he left his fortune to his friend, Grand Chancellor Philipp Joseph von Jariges.
Contemporary reception
Charles Hanbury Williams , English ambassador to Berlin from 1750 to 1751, wrote about Eichel: The person in whom the king places the greatest trust is without a doubt a certain acorn; he is his private secretary and writes what the king himself dictates to him. But I have never seen this man and people who lived here for seven years have never seen him either. He is being held like a prisoner of state, is constantly on duty and has less than half an hour to himself all year round.
Johann Christoph von Woellner characterized Eichel in retrospect and exaggeratedly in 1786 as a brazen and dangerous man who never abused the king's trust on a large scale, but used many small things for his private purposes. Furthermore, he is a highly immoral, evil person with a completely unmeasured, insatiable pride , who despots ruled his subordinates. On his good side, however, would include his great knowledge of state affairs and his forward-looking view, with which he could often inform the king in advance of possible events.
literature
- Bernhard Erdmannsdörffer: Eichel, August Friedrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 722 f.
- Johannes Schultze : Eichel, August Friedrich. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 368 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Rolf Straubel : Biographical manual of the Prussian administrative and judicial officials 1740–1806 / 15 . In: Historical Commission to Berlin (Ed.): Individual publications . 85. KG Saur Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-598-23229-9 , pp. 235 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
- Eduard Vehse : History of the Prussian court and nobility and Prussian diplomacy , Hoffmann & Campe, Hamburg 1851
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Eichel, August Friedrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prussian Cabinet Council |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 5, 1698 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 3, 1768 |
| Place of death | Potsdam |