Karl Gustaf von Brinkman (25 February 1764 – 25 December 1847) was a Swedish and German classicist poet, writer and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. Member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...

1828–1847, Seat No. 3, ennobled and elevated to Baron,

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

. Karl Gustaf von Brinkman was born in

Nacka Nacka () is the municipal seat of Nacka Municipality and part of Stockholm urban area in Sweden. The municipality's name harks back to a 16th-century industrial operation established by the Crown at Nacka farmstead where conditions for water mil ...

, Sweden, and was the son of Secretary Hans Gustaf von Brinkman and Countess Beata Kristina Leijon Manor. His education was from the beginning of strictly religious orientation, as his father intended him for a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

work. From 1782 to 1785, he attended the Seminar of the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

Barby, Germany Barby () is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the River Elbe, near the confluence with the Saale, approx. southeast of Magdeburg. Since an administrative reform of 1 January 2010 i ...

. He became acquainted with

Friedrich Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional P ...

, who devoted his later writings on religion. In 1787, he began to study at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

, and studied philosophy and law. In 1889, he went on an educational journey that led him to Wittenberg, Jena, Weimar, Leipzig and Berlin. Through his activities in 1791 in government service, he received the confidence of King

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 ...

of Sweden. He then became Secretary of Legation in Berlin in 1792 and began his diplomatic career. In Berlin, he moved in the romantic salons, met

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...

, and was assistant at

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

's ''

Musen-Almanach A ''Musen-Almanach'' ("Muses' Almanac") was a kind of literary annual, popular in Germany from 1770 into the mid-19th century. They were modelled on the '' Almanach des Muses'' published in Paris from 1765. Development in the 1770s The first exam ...

''. From 1798 until 1801 he was involved in diplomatic affairs in Paris and at this time frequented the house of

Anne Louise Germaine de Staël Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

. As ambassador in Berlin (1807), he made among other things the acquaintance of

Johannes von Müller Johannes von Müller (3 January 1752 – 29 May 1809) was a Swiss historian. Biography He was born at Schaffhausen, where his father was a clergyman and rector of the gymnasium. In his youth, his maternal grandfather, Johannes Schoop (1696–1 ...

Johann Gottlieb Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (; ; 19 May 1762 – 29 January 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Kan ...

Friedrich von Gentz Friedrich von Gentz (2 May 1764 – 9 June 1832) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian diplomat and a writer. With Austrian chancellor Klemens von Metternich, Von Metternich he was one of the main forces behind the organisation, management and pro ...

Adam Müller Adam Heinrich Müller (30 June 1779 – 17 January 1829; after 1827 Ritter von Nitterdorf) was a German-Austrian conservative philosopher, literary critic, and political economist, working within the romantic tradition. Biography Early life ...

, with whom he had constant exchange of ideas. He accompanied the royal family on their flight to East Prussia. From 1808 until 1810 he was ambassador in London and became a deputy chancellor in Stockholm. His diplomatic career changed abruptly when he lost the confidence of the royal court. In 1835 focused only on literature, which he published in Swedish. His extensive correspondence, which he greatly enjoyed, shows him as a witty interlocutor. In 1836, he was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

. Von Brinkman died in 1847 in Stockholm.

Sources

* * * Richard Steffen: ''Kvinnorna kring Tegnér'', Kooperativa Förbundets bokförlag, Stockholm 1947. *

Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

(1905)
vol. 4, pp. 160–163

Stockholm 1906 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brinkman, Carl Gustaf von Swedish poets Swedish male writers Members of the Swedish Academy Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1764 births 1847 deaths Ambassadors of Sweden to the United Kingdom Swedish male poets Swedish expatriates in Germany