The noble family von Möllendorf (also: Möllendorff, Moellendorff) has been prominent in the history of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

and

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 ...

. The von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff family descends from an adopted son (born

Wilamowitz Enno Friedrich Wichard Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (22 December 1848 – 25 September 1931) was a German classical philologist. Wilamowitz, as he is known in scholarly circles, was a renowned authority on Ancient Greece and its literature ...

) of a member of the Möllendorf family. In 1427 two members of the family are mentioned in a list of Privy Councillors of the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out ...

who signed a treaty with

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

: "Jaspar Gans zu Putlitz, Achim Gans his son, Herr Hans v. Quitzow, Bernd Rohr, Hans v. Rohr Old Otto

von Blumenthal The von Blumenthal family are Lutheran and Roman Catholic German nobility, originally from Brandenburg-Prussia. Other (unrelated) families of this name exist in Switzerland and formerly in Russia, and many unrelated families (quite a few of them Je ...

, Ebel v. Möllendorf, Beteke v. Kehrberg, Kone v. Retzdorff, Achim v. Möllendorf"

Wichard Joachim Heinrich von Möllendorf Wichard Joachim Heinrich von Möllendorf (7 January 1724 – 28 January 1816) was a Generalfeldmarschall of the Kingdom of Prussia. Life and career Möllendorf was born in Lindenberg (Prignitz), now a part of Wittenberge, in the Margraviate of B ...

(1724–1816) distinguished himself as an officer at the battles of Leuthen, Hochkirch and

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces first ...

, and as a major-general at Burkersdorf and Brix. He became Governor of Berlin in 1783, and General in 1787. In 1793 he was promoted to ''

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

'' (Field Marshal), but was now too old for hard campaigns. He was captured at Auerstädt (1806). He died in 1816. In retirement he adopted three great-grandsons of one of his sisters, Hugo, Ottocar and Arnold von Wilamowitz. Their descendants, also distinguished, are called von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff. Classical philologist

Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff Enno Friedrich Wichard Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (22 December 1848 – 25 September 1931) was a German classical philologist. Wilamowitz, as he is known in scholarly circles, was a renowned authority on Ancient Greece and its literature ...

(1848–1931) was a member of this family. Another member of the family, Johann Karl Wolf Dietrich von Moellendorff (1791–1860) was born at his father's estate Rheinsberg, entered military service during the Napoleonic wars and was captured at the retreat after the Battle of Auerstädt. From 1810 he served in the Guards in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

, and distinguished himself at the conquest of Paris in 1814. In 1848 he was Major-General and commander of a brigade in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

responsible for the protection of the Royal Palace on March 18 (see

Revolutions of 1848 in the German states 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 ...

). He retired from active duty in 1857.Poten in ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'', Bd 22, p. 119-120
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Paul Georg von Möllendorff Paul Georg von Möllendorff (17 February 1847 in Zehdenick, Prussia – 20 April 1901 in Ningbo, China) was a German linguist and diplomat. Möllendorff is mostly known for his service as an adviser to the Korean king Gojong in the late nineteen ...

(1847–1901) was a German linguist and diplomat.

Otto Franz von Möllendorff Otto Franz von Möllendorff (24 December 1848 – 17 August 1903) was a German scientist, a malacologist. In 1894, Jose Rizal sent (from Dapitan) to Möllendorff (who was in Manila at that time) specimens of Tonnidae, large sea snails known as tun ...

(1848–1903) was a German scientist, a

malacologist Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...

. Willi von Möllendorf (1872–1934) was a composer of quarter tone music. Wichard Georg Otto von Moellendorff (1881–1937) was a German engineer and economist born in Hong Kong as the son of Consul Otto von Moellendorff. In the Nazi era Horst von Möllendorff (1906-1992) was a popular cartoonist. Ulrike von Möllendorff (born 1939) is a German journalist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mollendorf German noble families