Franz Gabriel von Bray

Franz Gabriel Graf Bray, lithograph by Josef Kriehuber , after a painting by Johann Nepomuk Ender

Franz Gabriel Graf von Bray or François Gabriel de Bray (* December 25, 1765 in Rouen , † September 2, 1832 in Irlbach ) was a diplomat and naturalist from the noble family of the Brays .

Life

Bray was first in the service of the Order of Malta and came in 1788 as French legation secretary to the Reichstag in Regensburg . As a result of the revolutionary upheaval in France, he finally entered Bavarian services in 1799 and became a close friend and advisor to Maximilian von Montgelas . His diplomatic tasks took him several times to Berlin , London and St. Petersburg . In Berlin he also met his wife Sophie von Löwenstern , whom he married in 1805. He came into closer contact with the Livonian nobility and was able to write a scientific history of Livonia for the first time.

In 1811 he acquired the castle and brewery of Irlbach near Straubing and in 1813 Schambach Castle , became a privy councilor and in 1812 the chevalier raised him to a count and in 1819 became an imperial councilor . From 1820 he was envoy to Paris and from 1827 to Vienna ; In 1831 he went into retirement.

Bray came into contact with David Heinrich Hoppe during his time in Regensburg and, together with his friend Charles Jeunet Duval, immediately became an active member of the Regensburg Botanical Society founded in 1790 , of which he became president in 1811. Bray also managed to arouse the interest of Kaspar Maria von Sternberg , a friend of Goethe, in botany.

Bray became an honorary member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in 1808 and of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg in 1822 . The alpine pod cress that Hoppe discovered in the Großglockner area was named Braya alpina in honor of Bray . A bust of Bray is by Thorvaldsen .

He was a knight of the Order of Hubert and the Order of Malta.

On March 28, 1833, Martius gave the academic speech as an obituary for Bray.

Bray's son Otto von Bray-Steinburg also became a professional politician and made it to the position of Foreign Minister and Prime Minister of Bavaria.

Orders and honors

Franz Gabriel von Bray with his wife Sophia (relief on the tomb in Irlbach)

Tomb of Irlbacher Kirche: inscription for Franz Gabriel von Bray

Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown

Grand Cross of the OK Leopold Order

Russian Order of Saint Anne

Order of the Red Eagle

Emperor Franz Order of the Legion of Honor

North Star Order

After him, the plant genera are Braya Sternb. & Hoppe and Brayopsis Gilg & Muschl. , both from the cruciferous family (Brassicaceae) and the genera Debraea Roem. & Schult. from the family of Larkspur trees (vochysiaceae) and Irlbachia Mart. named from the gentian family (Gentianaceae).

literature

Karl Otmar von Aretin: Bray, Francois Gabriel Graf. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, ISBN 3-428-00183-4 , p. 563 ( digitized version ).
Krojer, Franz (Hrsg.): Irlbach: From the life of Count Franz Gabriel von Bray, friend of Montgelas, Munich 2010 (difference publishing house)
Hellmann, Manfred: A Bavarian diplomat as a historian in Livonia, Bavarian Academy of Sciences, meeting reports, volume 3/1978, Munich 1978.
Kreitmaier, Georg: Franz-Gabriel von Bray. Diplomat and natural scientist, Straubing 1965.
Bray, Franz Gabriel von: From the life of an old school diplomat. Notes and memorabilia of Count Francois Gabriel de Bray (1765–1832), Leipzig 1901.

Web links

Bust of Franz Gabriel von Bray , created 1818/19 by Bertel Thorvaldsen

Remarks

↑ Bray's year of birth is indicated on the tombstone with “1767”, but 1765 is correct.
↑ The day of Bray's death is given differently as September 2 or 3, 1832.
↑ The first name is given differently in the literature with "Sophia" or "Sophie".

Individual evidence

↑ Information on his tomb.
↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names - Extended Edition. Part I and II. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5 doi: 10.3372 / epolist2018 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Aloys von Rechberg	royal Bavarian envoy in Berlin 1801–1807	Guido von Thun and Hohenstein
vacant	royal Bavarian envoy in Saint Petersburg 1808–1822	Friedrich August von Gise
vacant	royal Bavarian envoy in Paris 1822–1827	Christian Hubert von Pfeffel
vacant	royal Bavarian envoy in Vienna 1827–1831	August by Cetto

personal data
SURNAME	Bray, Franz Gabriel von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Diplomat with diverse academic interests
DATE OF BIRTH	December 25, 1765
PLACE OF BIRTH	Rouen
DATE OF DEATH	September 2, 1832
Place of death	Irlbach

[1] Bray's year of birth is indicated on the tombstone with “1767”, but 1765 is correct.

[2] The day of Bray's death is given differently as September 2 or 3, 1832.

[3] The first name is given differently in the literature with "Sophia" or "Sophie".

[4] Information on his tomb.

[Burkhardt_2018-5] Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names - Extended Edition. Part I and II. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5 doi: 10.3372 / epolist2018 .