Louis-Guillaume Otto, comte de Mosloy (7 August 1754 – 9 November 1817) was a Germano- French diplomat.

Life

A student of Christoph Wilhelm von Koch and a friend of Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ...

, Ludwig Otto graduated in

Modern Languages A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead classical languages such ...

and

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

. He entered the French diplomatic service, becoming

private secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...

to César de La Luzerne in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, before being despatched in 1779 on a

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

to the newly formed

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Otto fell for

Anne Shippen Anne Hume "Nancy" Livingston (born Shippen) (24 February 1763 – 25 August 1841) was an American journal writer. Early life Shippen was born on 24 February 1763 in Shippen House in Shippensburg. She was a daughter of William Shippen Jr. (173 ...

and courted her with letters. Her mother was keen but her father married her to another. While in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, he succeeded

François Barbé-Marbois François Barbé-Marbois, marquis de Barbé-Marbois (31 January 1745 – 12 February 1837) was a French politician. Early career Born in Metz, where his father was director of the local mint, Barbé-Marbois tutored the children of the Marquis d ...

as Secretary of the

French Legation The French Legation is a historic legation building in eastern Austin, Texas, built in 1841 to represent the French government in the new Republic of Texas. It is among the oldest extant frame structures in Austin. The building and its surroundin ...

in May 1785, serving another two terms as ''Chargé d'affaires ad interim'', having established cordial relations with

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

and other senior

members Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. While in the United States he authore
reports analyzing the U.S. Constitution
and the prospects for its ratification. In March 1787, Otto married Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Van Brugh Livingston; she died in December 1787. Otto was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1787. He returned to France at the end of 1792, and shortly afterwards the Revolutionary Government Committee of Public Safety appointed him as the first Head of the Political Division for

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy a ...

. However, the fall of the

Girondins The Girondins ( , ), or Girondists, were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnar ...

on 31 May 1793 led to Otto's dismissal and arrest. He then came close to being guillotined, but survived and followed Abbot Sieyès to Berlin as Secretary to his Legation, remaining there as ''Chargé d'affaires'' after Sieyès joined the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and replaced ...

. A letter written by him on 6 July 1799 seems to be the earliest recorded use of the term ''

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

'' in French; in the letter, he announces that that

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 ...

has begun in France. He was posted to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

in 1800, first as Commissioner responsible for

Prisoners of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

, before appointment as

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

. Instructed to negotiate with the

British Cabinet The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of His Majesty's Government. A committee of the Privy Council, it is chaired by the prime minister and its members include secretaries of state and other senior ministers. ...

, in 1801, he forged the outline agreement for the

Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it s ...

. In 1803, he was posted to the Bavarian court of the Prince-Elector Maximilian at

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. In 1805, his influence on the Elector impressed

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, who appointed him to the Conseil d'État and honoured him as ''Grand officier'' of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. In 1810 he was despatched as French Ambassador to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

,www.ambafrance-at.org
where he negotiated the conditions for Napoleon's second marriage with Archduchess Marie-Louise. Napoleon rewarded Otto by creating him '' comte de Mosloy'' in late 1810. During his residence in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Louis Otto came into contact with Klemens, graf von Metternich ( State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire), who had also been tutored by Professor von Koch. Père-Lachaise - Division 37 - Otto-Pellet 11

Père-Lachaise - Division 37 - Otto-Pellet 11

The Count was excluded from politics during the

First Restoration The First Restoration was a period in French history that saw the return of the Bourbon dynasty to the throne, between the abdication of Napoleon I in the spring of 1814 and the Hundred Days, in March 1815. The regime was born following the vict ...

and retired after the

Second Restoration The Bourbon Restoration was the period of French history during which the House of Bourbon returned to power after the first fall of Napoleon on 3 May 1814. Briefly interrupted by the Hundred Days War in 1815, the Restoration lasted until the ...

, since he had served as Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 24 March until 22 June during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

. Following his death in 1817 Otto was buried in the 37th division at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris.

Coat of arms

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visu ...

: "''Écartelé, aux 1 et 4 fascé d'or et de sable ; au 2 d'argent à une loutre de sable issante d'une rivière d'azur engoulant un poisson d'or; au 3 de gueules au lion léopardé d'or tenant un coeur d'argent''"

References

External links

www.napoleon-empire.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Louis-Guillaume 1754 births 1817 deaths People from Kehl People of the French Revolution French people of the Napoleonic Wars Diplomacy during the American Revolutionary War Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Counts of the First French Empire Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French people of the American Revolution 18th-century French diplomats 19th-century French diplomats Ambassadors of France to Great Britain Ambassadors of France to Prussia Ambassadors of France to Austria Members of the American Philosophical Society

Life

Coat of arms

See also

References

External links