Heinrich Theodor von Schön (20 January 1773 – 23 July 1856) 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 ...

n statesman who assisted in the liberal reforms in Prussia during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Biography

Schön was born in Schreitlauken, Tilsit district, East Prussia (now Šereitlaukis, Lithuania). He studied law and political science at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...

. In 1793, he entered the Prussian government service and was rapidly promoted, serving as governor. After the Peace of Tilsit, he rendered assistance in carrying out the reforms of Baron vom Stein and Karl August von Hardenberg, and to him is attributed the authorship of the ''Politisches Testament'', which Stein issued upon his retirement from office. In addition, Schön's memorandum on the abolition of serfdom was the basis of the law of emancipation. In 1816, Schön was appointed governor of West Prussia, and eight years afterwards of the whole

Province of Prussia The Province of Prussia (; ; pl, Prowincja Prusy; csb, Prowincjô Prësë) was a province of Prussia from 1829 to 1878. Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1829 from the provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia ...

. Under his administration many reforms were made. He was an ardent liberal, and it was partly through his efforts that upon the accession of the new King in 1840 a demand was made for a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

. Schön was made Minister of State, but his ideas were too advanced for

Frederick William IV Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

, and he found it expedient in 1842 to retire from political life. He was buried next to the

Arnau Church The Arnau Church (german: Kirche Arnau) of St. Catherine of Alexandria is a Brick Gothic church 8 km east of Kaliningrad near the Pregolya River and the Russian- Lithuanian border. It was built in the 14th century as a Catholic church in ...

in East Prussia. Schön's memoirs and correspondence were published by his son under the title of ''Aus den Papieren des Ministers und Burggrafen von Marienburg Theodor von Schön'' (1875–83). The share claimed by him in Stein's reforms has been the subject of some controversy.

Notes

References

* This work in turn cites: **

John Robert Seeley Sir John Robert Seeley, KCMG (10 September 1834 – 13 January 1895) was an English Liberal historian and political essayist. A founder of British imperial history, he was a prominent advocate for the British Empire, promoting a concept of Grea ...

, ''Life and Times of Stein'' (Cambridge, 1878) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schon, Theodor von 1773 births 1856 deaths German politicians of the Napoleonic Wars Government ministers of Prussia University of Königsberg alumni German Freemasons Member of the Prussian National Assembly People from East Prussia