{{Infobox noble, type , name = Adolph Ribbing , title =

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, image = Adolph Ribbing.jpg , caption = Adolph Ludvig Ribbing , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = , reign = , reign-type = , predecessor = , successor = , suc-type = , spouse = Adèle Billard d'Aubigny , spouse-type = , issue =

Adolphe de Leuven Adolphe de Leuven (30 September 1802 – 14 April 1884) was a French theatre director and a librettist. Also known as Grenvallet, and Count Adolph Ribbing. He was the illegitimate son of Adolph Ribbing, who was involved in the assassination of G ...

, issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , styles = , titles = , noble family = , house-type = , father = Fredrik Ribbing , mother = Eva Helena Löwen , birth_date = {{Birth date, 1765, 01, 10, df=y , birth_place =

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, christening_date = , christening_place = , death_date = {{Death date and age, 1843, 04, 01, 1765, 01, 10, df=y , death_place =

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, burial_date = , burial_place = , religion = , occupation = Politician , memorials = , website = , module = Adolph Ludvig Ribbing, later called ''Adolph de Leuven'' (10 January 1765 in

– 1 April 1843 in

), was a Swedish

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and politician. He participated in the

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

in 1792.

Life

Early life

Adolph Ribbing was the son of Count Fredrik Ribbing and

Eva Helena Löwen Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (Devil May Cry), Eva (''Devil May Cry''), ...

. He spent his childhood at the Swedish royal court, as his mother was a popular socialite and the personal friend of both

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia Louisa Ulrika of Prussia ( sv, Lovisa Ulrika; german: Luise Ulrike) (24 July 1720 – 16 July 1782) was Queen of Sweden from 1751 to 1771 as the wife of King Adolf Frederick. She was queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III. Backgr ...

and

. He received a military education in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

and became a member of the Life Guards.

Assassination of Gustav III

In the 1780s, Ribbing came in conflict with the monarch,

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

. His animosity was nurtured when Charlotta Eleonora De Geer, with whom he was in love, was matched by the king with count

Hans Henrik von Essen Count Hans Henric von Essen (26 September 1755 – 28 June 1824) was a Swedish officer, courtier and statesman. Biography Hans Henric von Essen was born at Kavlås Castle in Tidaholm Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. He was a ...

. The engagement was widely disapproved of within the court because of sympathy with the popular

Augusta von Fersen Augusta may refer to: Places Australia * Augusta, Western Australia Brasil * Rua Augusta (São Paulo) Canada * Augusta, Ontario * North Augusta, Ontario * Augusta Street (Hamilton, Ontario) France * Augusta Suessionum ("Augusta of the Suess ...

, to whom von Essen had been a long term lover, and Ribbing challenged von Essen to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

.Cecilia af Klercker (1903). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok II 1783-1788. P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag. Sid. 212 Ribbing injured von Essen in the duel, which took place in 1788. The duel caused a scandal and was regarded as a crime against the king. Ribbing was assigned to the garrison at

Vaxholm Castle Vaxholm Fortress ( sv, Vaxholms fästning) is a historic fortification on the island of Vaxholmen in the Stockholm archipelago just east of the Swedish town of Vaxholm. The fortress is accessed by the Kastellet ferry, an electrically powered c ...

, which he regarded as an insult, and he therefore resigned from the army. Ribbing took part in the {{ill, 1789 session, sv, Riksdagen 1789 of the ''Riksdag'' (the Swedish parliament), acting as one of the leaders of the opposition to the king's increasingly

autocratic Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...

policies, such as the

Union and Security Act The Union and Security Act ( sv, Förenings- och säkerhetsakten, fi, Yhdistys- ja vakuuskirja), alternatively Act of Union and Security, was proposed by king Gustav III of Sweden to the assembled Estates of the Realm during the Riksdag of 1789. I ...

. In early 1792 he became involved in the plot to assassinate King Gustav, serving as the liaison between the conspiracy's leader

Carl Fredrik Pechlin Baron Carl Fredrik Pechlin (8 August 1720 – 29 May 1796) was a Swedish politician and demagogue. Life He was son of the Holstein minister at Stockholm, Johan Pechlin, and brother of Johanna Lohm. After moving to Sweden at age six, he was e ...

and the two men who had volunteered to carry out the murder, {{ill, Claes Fredrik Horn, sv, Claes Fredrik Horn and

Jacob Johan Anckarström Jacob Johan Anckarström (11 May 1762 – 27 April 1792) was a Swedish military officer who is known as the assassin of King Gustav III of Sweden. He was convicted and executed for regicide. Life He was the son of Jacob Johan Anckarström the E ...

in 1792. When Anckarström, Horn and Ribbing met on the afternoon of 16 March to finalise their plans, they did so at the house of Ribbing's lover, Louisa Hierta. That evening, the three conspirators attended a

masquerade ball A masquerade ball (or ''bal masqué'') is an event in which many participants attend in costume wearing a mask. (Compare the word "masque"—a formal written and sung court pageant.) Less formal "costume parties" may be a descendant of this tra ...

at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, during which either Anckarström or Ribbing (who boasted of it later when in exile)Claes Rainer 2021 in ''Sofia Magdalena : kärlek, revolutioner och mord'' ISBN 9789198624915 pp. 313-314 shot and wounded the king.Adolph L Ribbing
''Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon''. Accessed 30/12-2021 Ribbing was arrested within a few days of the assassination and confessed to partaking in the conspiracy. Ribbing was sentenced to death in May 1792 and deprived of his rank as a noble, but the regent Duke Charles (later King Charles XIII) commuted the sentence to exile.

Exile

In August 1792 Ribbing was deported to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, and thence made his way to France. Despite his enthusiasm for the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

he was unsettled by the burgeoning

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

and therefore left France, relocating first to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he had an affair with the famous writer

Madame de Staël Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...

, and then back to Denmark. By 1796 the situation in France had calmed down sufficiently for Ribbing to return to Paris. He adopted his mother's

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" is also used ...

, ''de Leuven'', and lived a quiet, apolitical life for the next nineteen years, during which time he married Adèle Billard, daughter of the doctor Jean Pierre Billard. As a known regicide, Adolph de Leuven (as he now called himself) did not feel safe during the White Terror of 1815, and he therefore left France again, this time for

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, where he found work as a journalist for the radical newspaper ''Le Vrai Libéral''. His writings for this organ earned him the enmity of King

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

, who in 1820 persuaded the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...

to deport him. He returned to France, where persecution of radicals had eased since 1815, and continued to work in left-wing journalism, this time for '' Le Courrier Français''. In 1830, aged 65, he took an active role in the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

which overthrew the

reactionary In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abse ...

Bourbon restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...

regime and installed the liberal

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...

. He died in 1843. His son and namesake,

, was a noted playwright and theatre director.

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* {{cite book , editor-last1=Bohman , editor-first1=Nils , editor-last2=Dahl , editor-first2=Torsten , title=Svenska män och kvinnor: biografisk uppslagsbok , year=1942–1955 , publisher=Bonnier , location=Stockholm , language=sv * {{cite book , last=Grimberg , first=Carl , title=Svenska folkets underbara öden. Gustav III:s och Gustav IV Adolfs tid , year=1922 , publisher=Norstedt , location=Stockholm , language=sv * Cecilia af Klercker (1903). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok II 1783-1788. P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag. Sid. 212 {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Ribbing, Adolph 1765 births Swedish duellists 1843 deaths 1792 crimes in Europe Swedish regicides Swedish people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Sweden Swedish nobility Swedish expatriates in France