August Otto von Grote (politician)

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August Otto Graf Grote (born November 19, 1747 in Celle ; † March 24, 1830 in Hamburg ) was a royal Prussian minister and diplomat.

Life

family

August Otto Graf Grote came from the old Lüneburg noble family Grote . The family received in 1689 by Emperor Leopold I the realm baron . His father Otto Freiherr von Grote (born November 13, 1709; † August 22, 1771) became a royal British and electoral Hanoverian lieutenant general . In 1747 he married Magarete Wilhelmine (* 1709; † April 26, 1768), widowed Baroness von Grote and born von der Lieth, the mother of August Otto.

Professional background

Grote first attended the Knight Academy in Lüneburg until 1763 and later the universities in Göttingen and Strasbourg . In 1768 he joined the Hanoverian service as Drost . In the following year he was appointed a councilor and in 1772 chamberlain . He made a long journey through Germany, Italy, France and England, where he was introduced to Frederick the Great in Berlin . In 1775 he settled in Hamburg and in 1776 received his appointment to the Electoral Cologne and Episcopal Munster Real Secret Council and authorized minister in the Lower Saxony district .

After the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss and the secularization of Cologne, Grote entered Prussian services and in 1804 became an extraordinary envoy and authorized minister in the Low German district. 1806 received the title of excellence . After the occupation of Hamburg by French troops in 1806, he went to Altona as an accredited minister for the Duchy of Holstein , but returned to Hamburg in 1807 after the Peace of Tilsit . For his services he was awarded by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. on September 1, 1809 raised to the status of hereditary count. In 1810 it was part of the funeral procession that led the late Prussian Queen Luise von Hohenzieritz to Charlottenburg . The king then appointed him Grand-Maitre de la Garderobe.

When Hamburg was annexed to the French Empire by Napoleon , Grote went to Berlin, but returned to his former residence in 1812 as General Commissioner for the departments of the Elbe, Weser and Ems , while at the same time retaining his former Prussian residence and the one that had recently been assigned to him Mecklenburg embassy. By intervening on behalf of a number of French prisoners of war, he saved the lives and property of several thousand Hanoverians, who were released by the French in response to the humane action he had initiated by the Russian military authorities. During the second occupation of Hamburg by the French, he went to Rostock to the Mecklenburg court, but returned to Hamburg in May 1814 before the French troops withdrew. His great services during the time of political turmoil were honored with the award of the Iron Cross and in 1815 with the award of the Grand Cross of the Guelph Order .

With great sympathy, he celebrated his 50th service anniversary in 1818 and the rare anniversary celebration of a 50-year residence in Hamburg in 1826. The Prussian King honored him on November 15, 1826 with the award of the Order of the Black Eagle , the highest honor in the Kingdom of Prussia. At the same time he received from the Hamburg Senate , the honorary citizenship of the city. August Otto Graf von Grote died on March 24, 1830 at the age of 82 in Hamburg.

Marriages and offspring

August Otto married Sophie Margarete Charlotte von Münchhausen's first marriage in 1768 (* May 8, 1747; † December 12, 1825). The marriage was divorced in 1772. The connection resulted in a son and a daughter. The daughter Friederike Countess von Grote (* April 28, 1771, † March 16, 1855) married the administrative lawyer Ludolph Friedrich von Laffert in 1790 and, after his death, the office director Ludolf Maximilian von Avemann. Her brother Adolf Christian Börries Otto Graf Grote (born May 3, 1769; † December 30, 1841), the only son of August Otto, was appointed royal Hanoverian chamberlain, district administrator and ambassador extraordinary in Paris.

In his second marriage, August Otto married Charlotte Auguste von Hahn in 1800 (* October 8, 1782, † December 22, 1844). From this marriage a daughter Charlotte Countess Grote (born March 25, 1801, † February 24, 1878) was born. In 1825 she married the royal Hanoverian Major General Bernhard von Bothmer (1783–1868).

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Grote, August Otto von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Grote, August Otto Graf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian diplomat and minister
DATE OF BIRTH November 19, 1747
PLACE OF BIRTH Celle
DATE OF DEATH March 24, 1830
Place of death Hamburg