Spiridion Lusi ( el, Σπυρίδων Λούζης, Spyridon Louzis,
it, Spiridione Lusi,
german: Spiridion Graf von Lusi; c. 1741 – c. 1815) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
scholar,
diplomat,
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
and naturalized ambassador of
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 ...
.
Biography
Spiridion Lusi was of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
origin.
He was born on the island of
Cephalonia in 1741, at that time a possession of the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
.
He migrated to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
where he resided for many years and was educated in the Greek College at Venice,
and later at the
University of Padua
The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...
. He was eventually sent as Venice's
minister to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
, and in
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 ...
and
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 ...
. From 1763 to 1765, he translated the four volumes of a translation of
Lucian from the Greek language into Italian, in four volumes published in London and Venice in 1764.
Lusi added some dialogue translated by
Gasparo Gozzi
Gasparo, count Gozzi (4 December 1713 – 26 December 1786) was a Venice, Venetian critic and dramatist.
Life and works
Gasparo Gozzi was the first of eleven children born to the Venetian Count Jacopo Antonio and Angela Tiepolo, who was also of n ...
. Several years later he moved 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 ...
.
In 1775, whilst Lusi was in
Breslau, he made the acquaintance of
Frederick the Great
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...
. He came to Berlin in 1777, where he was introduced into society and presented to the king at
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 ...
. During the
War of the Bavarian Succession
The War of the Bavarian Succession (; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Saxony and Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria after the extinction of the Bavarian br ...
, he joined the
volunteer corps as a Captain, fought with distinction against the
Austrians
, pop = 8–8.5 million
, regions = 7,427,759
, region1 =
, pop1 = 684,184
, ref1 =
, region2 =
, pop2 = 345,620
, ref2 =
, region3 =
, pop3 = 197,990
, ref3 ...
and was soon promoted to Major. In 1780 he was hired as Prussian ambassador to London, a position he assumed in February 1781. With the improvement of Prussia's relations with England, which occurred in the last years of Frederick's reign, Lusi managed to exert a more fruitful ambassadorial activity. In 1784 he was appointed Colonel. He was recalled in October 1788 from London, and in 1790 he accompanied the new king,
Frederick William II, who contracted an army against Austria. In January 1792 he had a son, ''Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig August Spiridion'' (Φρειδερίκος Λούζης),
who would eventually become captain in the
Guards Regiment
Guards units (russian: Гвардия, translit=Gvardiya) were elite units and formations in the Soviet Armed Forces that continue to exist in the Russian Armed Forces and other post-Soviet states. These units were awarded Guards status after ...
. In 1792 he was appointed Major General by King
Frederick William III
Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...
, and Lieutenant General in 1798. In 1800 he was appointed ambassador at St. Petersburg, but he was dismissed two years later at his own request. Thereafter he lived quietly and withdrawn in Potsdam, where he died in 1815.
His descendants settled both in Germany and in Ireland. The name died out in Ireland in 1919 with the death of his granddaughter Countess Elise de Lusi, but his other Irish descendants include the physicist Professor
John Joly
John Joly FRS (1 November 1857 – 8 December 1933) was an Irish physicist and professor of geology at the University of Dublin, known for his development of radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer. He is also known for developing techniques to ...
FRS (1857–1933).
In Germany still are living descendants.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lusi, Spiridion
1741 births
1815 deaths
People from Cephalonia
18th-century Greek people
19th-century Greek people
Lieutenant generals of Prussia
Prussian diplomats
18th-century Prussian people
German people of Greek descent
Republic of Venice diplomats
Ambassadors of Prussia
Translators to Italian
Translators from Greek
18th-century diplomats
University of Padua alumni
Greek emigrants to Italy
Greek emigrants to Germany
18th-century translators