Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Bitter

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Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Bitter (born January 5, 1798 in Braunschweig , † April 5, 1870 in London ) was a German court official and cabinet director of Duke Charles II of Braunschweig .

Live and act

Bitter, the son of a Brunswick carpenter, initially worked as a clerk for a Brunswick notary and entered the service of Duke Charles II in 1824 as chancellery in the Privy Council . In 1827 he was promoted to chancellery of the ducal cabinet and in 1828 to cabinet director.

In September 1830, Duke Charles II, who was also known as the “Diamond Duke” because of his lavish lifestyle, was overthrown in a revolution. He fled to England; his cabinet director Bitter accompanied him. In the period that followed, Bitter carried out several diplomatic assignments for the deposed duke, which took him to Frankfurt am Main and Vienna, among other places.

Differences between Bitter and Charles II meant that he separated from the duke a few years later. In 1844 he founded a school and educational establishment in Clapham near London.

While he was still very negatively judged by his contemporaries during his lifetime, Bitter was characterized more positively in the second half of the 19th century as a “victim of the favor of a hated prince” and “a useful, capable worker and by no means a malicious person”. From today's point of view, it is established that Bitter was "the most technically competent and personally most honorable" helper of the controversial Duke Charles II.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dieter Lent: Bitter, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich. In: Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Günter Scheel (ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon: 19th and 20th centuries. Hahnsche Buchhandlung Verlag, Hanover 1996, p. 64 and Ludwig Ferdinand Spehr :  Bitter, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 683 f.
  2. ↑ Ludwig Ferdinand Spehr :  Bitter, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 683 f.
  3. ^ Dieter Lent: Bitter, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich. In: Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Günter Scheel (ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon: 19th and 20th centuries. Hahnsche Buchhandlung Verlag, Hanover 1996, p. 64.
personal data
SURNAME Bitter, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bitter, Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German court official, cabinet director of Duke Karl II of Braunschweig
DATE OF BIRTH January 5, 1798
PLACE OF BIRTH Braunschweig
DATE OF DEATH April 5, 1870
Place of death London