Anders Gustaf von Düben (; 2 June 1785 – 4 October 1846) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

. Notably, he maintained personal connections with the former royal house of Holstein-Gottorp, which historically held the throne of the Kingdom of Sweden. Düben gained recognition for being the final Swedish individual, along with Johan Fredrik Ernst von Vegesack, to receive an

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

sentence, owing to his implication in the Düben-Vegesack treason incident.

Early life

Born in

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 ...

, Sweden, into the

Düben family The Düben family () is a Swedish family originally from Saxony, Holy Roman Empire, whose members were elevated to the Swedish nobility, that rose to prominence with Andreas Düben (–1662), an organist to the German Church in Stockholm, Swe ...

, renowned for its contributions to classical music, he held the title of '' Freiherr''. He entered the world as the son of the diplomat

Henrik Jakob von Düben Henrik Jakob von Düben (; May 1733 – March 25, 1805) was a Swedish diplomat, Master of Ceremonies and Hofmarschall. Notably, he served as an envoy to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1767, during which time he headed the Embassy of S ...

and Julie af Petersens, whose father was

Herman Petersen Herman Petersen (13 December 171313 August 1765) was a Swedish merchant. Biography Herman Petersen was born on 13 December 1713 to Abraham Petersen, a wholesaler in Gothenburg and his wife Christina Tham. He was elected to serve as director ...

. His ancestry comprised a blend of French, Dutch, German, and Scottish origins, with a lineage tracing back to French Huguenots in

Saintonge Saintonge may refer to: *County of Saintonge, a historical province of France on the Atlantic coast *Saintonge (region), a region of France corresponding to the historical province Places *Saint-Genis-de-Saintonge, a commune in the Charente-Mari ...

Military career

At the age of eighteen, Düben was appointed as '' fänrik'' in the Svea Life Guards. He later served as a lieutenant during the Franco-Swedish War, earning the military medal For Valour in the Field () in 1807. Subsequently, he assumed the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the army and was bestowed with the title and dignity of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in 1815. Following his military career, he then pursued a vocation as a painter and exhibited at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts' exhibition in 1826.

''Düben-Vegesack-treason''

Düben was the last Swedish person sentenced to exile, along with Johan Fredrik Ernst von Vegesack, due to their ties to the late Hereditary Prince of Sweden, as they were suspected of having kept an illegal correspondence with the Prince. Even though Düben had pledged in 1829 to stop corresponding with him. Düben's ties to Gustav, Prince of Vasa was established during the Prince's infant years. He was a supporter of the Prince's family and their lineage. Vegesack, who at the time was stationed in Berlin, sent a letter to his friend von Düben, asking him to meet up with Gustav, Prince of Wasa, during a sejour to Vienna in the winter of 1832. Vegsack had denied that the letter was written by him. The letter was intercepted, leading to von Düben and von Vegesack being accused of treacherous acts. Which consequently led to the arrest of Veseack and Düben on the Charge of High Treason on October 4, 1832. In March 1833, they received an exile sentence, and in May, they both went to Germany. He returned to Sweden in 1835.

Family

In 1810, he married a woman from Swedish Pomerania named Carolina Maria Eckhardt (1794–1861). She was the daughter of a printer named Johann Heinrich Eckhardt. They had a child named

Cesar von Düben Cesar von Düben (24 November 1819 – 18 September 1888) was a Swedish photographer, explorer and writer. A pioneering photographer working with the photographic process called daguerreotype, Von Düben set up, according to paper trails, the ea ...

, who later became a pioneer in photography.

Appointments

For Valour in the Field.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duben, Anders Gustaf von 1785 births 1846 deaths Barons of Sweden 18th-century Swedish nobility Gustavian era people Swedish people of French descent Swedish people of Scottish descent Swedish people of Dutch descent Swedish people of German descent 19th-century Swedish criminals 19th-century Swedish military personnel 19th-century Swedish painters 19th-century diarists Military personnel from Stockholm Swedish military officers Swedish expatriates in Germany Düben family