Christoph Ludwig von Stille (13 September 1696 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 ...

–19 October 1752 in

Aschersleben Aschersleben () is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km east of Quedlinburg, and 45 km northwest of Halle (Saale). Geography Aschersleben lies near the confluence of the r ...

) was a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n Major General and curator of the Royal Academy of Science in Berlin. He was the son of the Lieutenant General Ulrich Christoph von Stille.

Early life

Although Christoph Ludwig was born on 18 September 1696 in Berlin, the son of Ulrich Christoph von Stille (1654–1728) and Eva Maria von Cosel; he was one of five boys and one daughter. Ulrich Christoph von Stille was at that time employed in the

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

. Stille became fluent in the usual languages: besides

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and French, he also learned

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. In 1709, King

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (german: Friedrich I.; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union ( Brandenburg-Prussia). The latter function h ...

's death, the king promoted the father to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

, and made him commander of Magdeburg fortress, where the family was able to live together.Artikel „Stille, Christoph Ludwig von“ von Heinrich Pröhle in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, herausgegeben von der Historischen Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Band 36 (1893), S. 240–245, Digitale Volltext-Ausgabe in Wikisource, URL: https://de.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=ADB:Stille,_Christoph_Ludwig_von&oldid=2493882 (Version vom 16. Juni 2017, 15:32 Uhr UTC) Stille and his brothers received an excellent education in the center of the two universities of the Elbe and Weser. Stille attended the University of Helmstadt and in 1715, he embarked upon a military career in his father's regiment. He was at the siege of Stralsund. On 19 October 1718 he became

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

at the Lord's father's regiment. When the circumstances allowed it, he attended the university again, this time 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 ...

. Like his friend, Ewald von Kleist, he worked as a Prussian recruiting officer, especially in

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 ...

. He rose to prominence in the military quickly; in 1740, upon Frederick the Great's ascension to the throne, he came to the king's notice. Frederick, delighted to find a well-educated military man, promoted him to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, without first promoting him to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, and then appointed him as tutor to his younger brother,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

.Darrel Burg, ''The Correspondence of Christian Gottfried Krause,'' Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2009
p.110
see footnote 191. He was a literate and well-educated man. He was a friend of the poets

Ludwig Gleim Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim (2 April 1719 – 18 February 1803) was a German poet, commonly associated with the Enlightenment movement. Life Gleim was born at the small town of Ermsleben in the Principality of Halberstadt, then part of Prussia ...

and Ewald von Kleist; he introduced these men to Frederick the Great. Gleim called him among Frederick's best and most charming friends. He himself translated several works, including some by

Maupertuis Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (; ; 1698 – 27 July 1759) was a French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters. He became the Director of the Académie des Sciences, and the first President of the Prussian Academy of Science, at the ...

. He wrote a work himself about the

Silesian wars The Silesian Wars (german: Schlesische Kriege, links=no) were three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Prussia (under King Frederick the Great) and Habsburg Austria (under Archduchess Maria Theresa) for control of the Central European ...

. He married in 1729 to Charlotte Sophie von Huss. She was the daughter of the President of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

, Karl Adolph von Huss. They had 12 children, of which two sons and four daughters survived. Charlotte Sophie's sister was Marie Sybylle von Huss (1699-1767), who married another of Frederick's generals

Peter Ludwig du Moulin Peter Ludwig du Moulin (1681, in Wesel – 10 August 1756, in Stendal) was a Prussian General of Infantry and served Frederick the Great during the War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748). He served three Prussian kings, including Frederick, ...

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stille, Christoph Ludwig von 1696 births 1752 deaths Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences 18th-century German writers 18th-century German male writers Prussian generals Military personnel from Berlin