Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Henrik ''Viktor'' Knut von Düben

von Düben The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de ...

(21 October 1818 – 21 August 1867) was a Swedish peer, politician, lieutenant, estate owner, second great-grandson of organist and composer

Gustaf Düben Gustaf Düben (also spelt Gustav) (1624/1628December 19, 1690) was a Swedish organist and composer. Personal life Early life Düben was born in the 1620s in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of the German-born Andreas Düben, an organist, and Anna ...

Early life

Viktor von Düben was born on 21 October 1818 at Bollstanäs in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, to Carolina Maria von Düben (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Eckhardt) and Anders Gustaf von Düben. The fourth child in a Noble family, he had two sisters and three brothers, among others writer Cesar von Düben. Carolina Maria was born in

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...

, thus of German descent, while Anders Gustaf had

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

ancestry. Both his father and his grandfather was closely linked to the

Royal Court of Sweden The Royal Court of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga Hovstaterna) is the official name for the organisation ( royal households) that supports the monarch, and the royal house. The incumbent monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf, is head of the Royal Court. The Royal ...

. His father was a prominent

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official r ...

and close friend of

Gustav, Prince of Vasa Prince Gustav of Vasa, Count Itterburg (german: Gustav, Prinz von Wasa; 9 November 1799 at Stockholm – 4 August/5 August 1877 at Pillnitz), born Crown Prince of Sweden, was the son of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and Queen Frederica. His Austr ...

, and his grandfather Henrik Jakob von Düben was a ''

hofmarschall The ''Hofmarschall'' (plural: Hofmarschälle) was the administrative official in charge of a princely German court, supervising all its economic affairs. Historically, every civil service was regarded as court service (e.g. the Russian nobility is ...

''.

Career

Von Düben was educated at

Military Academy Karlberg Military Academy Karlberg ( sv, Militärhögskolan Karlberg, MHS K) is a Swedish military academy, since its inauguration in 1792 in operation in the Karlberg Palace in Solna, just north of central Stockholm. It is thus the oldest military academ ...

, where he graduated as a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

. In 1844 he became a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

. In 1855 he shouldered his father-in-law Carl Reinhold Tersmeden as the estate owner of

Kägleholm Kägleholm is an island in Lake Väringen, Örebro County, Sweden, north of the city of Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of th ...

. Thereby, he became baron of Kägleholm. Von Düben served as a politician at the House of Nobility. His term ended with the abolishment of the old governing system in 1866, in which the nobility had a stronger presence in terms of authority. Von Düben founded a

marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than-u ...

association in Ödeby in 1865. Von Düben was elected the first chairperson of Ödeby's Municipal Board. Von Düben made several donations to the Karolinska Elementarläroverket in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

in 1860 and 1863. The donations were made up of collections of books, coins and several medals. In 1862 he made donations to Finnish people in need as the Great Famine of the 1860s had struck Finland.

Family

In 1849 he married Hedvig Charlotta

Tersmeden The Tersmeden family, originally ''tor Smede'', is a noble Swedish family originally from Stade that rose to prominence in the 15th-century with Thomas tor Smede, founder of one of the most prominent trading companies in northern Germany. The fami ...

, daughter to first cousins; reformist

Carl Reinhold Tersmeden Carl Reinhold Tersmeden (9 February 1789 – 21 July 1855), was a Swedish Army ''ryttmästare'' and politician. He served as the first chairperson of the first reform meeting in Örebro ( sv, Reformmötena i Örebro). Early life Carl Reinhold ...

and Gustava, née Tersmeden, with whom he had five children, out of which three girls survived until adulthood.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Düben, Viktor von 1818 births 1867 deaths Swedish barons Swedish people of German descent Swedish people of French descent Swedish people of Dutch descent Swedish people of Scottish descent 19th-century Swedish politicians 19th-century Swedish military personnel 19th-century Swedish landowners Politicians from Stockholm Local politicians in Sweden 19th-century Swedish philanthropists

Viktor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...