Otto Christopher von der Howen
Otto Christopher von der Howen (born November 19, 1699 in Bredenfeld (Courland), † November 27, 1775 in Mitau ) was a state official and state politician in the Duchy of Courland and Semgallia . As heir, he owned the Courland estates of Bredenfeld and Würzau.
Life
Family and youth
Otto Christopher von der Howen came from the indigenous Kurland family of the Howen . His parents were George Heinrich von der Howen, royal Polish cornet, and Dorothea Elisabeth von Schilling from the house of Krussen (Kurland). He studied in Königsberg (Prussia) (1718) and Halle (Saale) (1721).
Courland offices
From 1729 to 1734 von der Howen was a Semgallic church visitator ; from 1730 to 1732 state representative. As a messenger marshal, he headed the Courland Parliament in 1730. From 1734 to 1742 he served as captain in Bauske , from 1742 to 1746 he was chief captain in Goldingen .
From 1746 he was one of the four top boards that governed the country and had to represent the Duke in the absence, first as Landmarschall , from 1748 as head Burggraf, starting in 1758 as chancellor. In 1759, Duke Karl of Saxony granted him extensive domestic political powers with the office of court master. When Duke Karl was forced to abdicate in 1763, Otto Christopher von der Howen refused to pay homage to the future Duke Ernst Johann von Biron and was then deposed. In 1767 he was reinstated as land steward and held this office until his death in 1775.
In 1765 and 1767 he represented the interests of the Courland knighthood to the overlord in Warsaw as a state delegate . Otto Christopher von der Howen received the title of Kgl. Polish and Electoral Saxon Cabinet Ministers . He was awarded the Order of the White Eagle , the highest decoration of the First Republic of Poland .
Marriage and offspring
Otto Christopher von der Howen married Elisabeth Dorothea von Mirbach on March 14, 1732, the daughter of the Courland court master Heinrich George von Mirbach (* 1674; † 1736) and his wife Louise Charlotte von Brackel (* 1676; † 1728). Her son Otto Hermann von der Howen (1740–1806) played an important and sometimes controversial political role. In 1795 he pushed through the abdication of Duke Peter von Biron and the unconditional submission of Courland to Russian rule.
literature
- Courland and its knighthood. Ilmgau Verlag 1971
Web links
- Baltic Historical Commission (ed.): Entry on Otto Christopher von der Howen. In: BBLD - Baltic Biographical Lexicon digital [1]
- Article Otto Christopher von der Howen in the Latvian Wikipedia [2]
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Howen, Otto Christopher from the |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Courland-Semgallian civil servant and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 19, 1699 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bredenfeld (Courland) |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 27, 1775 |
| Place of death | Mitau |