![Chevalier Henry Wikoff](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Chevalier_Henry_Wikoff.jpg)
Henry Wikoff (c. 1812 – 28 April 1884), known as the ''Chevalier'' Wikoff, was an American traveler, writer and diplomat.
Biography
Wikoff was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, the illegitimate son of a doctor who owned
Blockley Township, Pennsylvania
Blockley Township is a defunct township that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Incorporated in 1704, the township was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia under the 1854 Act of Consolidation.
History
An irregularly shaped ...
. Despite his birth status, he inherited a sizable fortune, which enabled him to travel extensively in Europe.
[Crain, Caleb. "The Courtship of Henry Wikoff," ''American Literary History'' 18.4 (2006): pp. 659-94] He graduated from
Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
in 1831,
[''Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1600-1889''] and then attended the
College of New Jersey (but did not get a degree). He was
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
in Pennsylvania in 1834.
That same year, Wikoff then went to Europe, where he acted as a diplomatic agent for the United States, Britain, and France at different times,
[ and even spent some time in prison in Italy.][ Upon returning to America, he was responsible for the successful tour by famous dancer ]Fanny Elssler
Fanny Elssler (born Franziska Elßler; 23 June 181027 November 1884) was an Austrian ballerina of the Romantic Period.
Life and career
She was born in Gumpendorf, a neighborhood of Vienna. Her father Johann Florian Elssler was a second ge ...
in 1840.[ In 1852, after a sensational trial in front of the High Court of ]Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
, he and a conspirator, Frenchman Louis Vannaud, were sentenced to 15 months in prison for attempting to force an heiress, Miss G. C. Gamble, into marriage in order to gain access to her fortune. Wikoff became a close friend of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) served as First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
Mary Lincoln was a member of a large and wealthy, slave-owning ...
, which created some scandalous gossip.[The Lincoln Institute website]
/ref>
He was friendly with the Bonaparte imperial family in France, and was awarded the Grand Cross
Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...
of the Legion of Honor by Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
, which gave him the title of ''Chevalier'' (Knight), and was made Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic, by the King of Spain in 1871.[ He acted as an undercover reporter for the '' New York Herald'', making use of his presence in government circles.][
Wikoff died 28 April 1884 in Brighton, Sussex, England, age 72 or 74.]
Works
*''Napoleon Louis Bonaparte, First President of France; Biographical and Personal Sketches, Including a Visit to the Prince at the Castle of Ham.'' New York: George P. Putnam, 1849
*''My Courtship and its Consequences.'' New York: J. C. Derby, 1855
*''The Adventures of a Roving Diplomatist.'' New York: W. P. Fetridge, 1857
*
Memoir of Ginevra Guerrabella
'. New York: T.J. Crowan, 1863
''Reminiscences of an Idler.''
New York: Fords, Howard & Hulbert, 1880
References
External links
Mary’s Charlatans: Chevalier Henry Wikoff (1813-1884)
''The Lehrman Institute''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wikoff, Henry
1884 deaths
1810s births
Date of birth unknown
American male writers
Lawyers from Philadelphia
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
Union College (New York) alumni
19th-century American lawyers