Baron Salomon Maurits von Rajalin (25 August 1757 – 23 September 1825) was a

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels ...

admiral and civil servant.

Career

Rajalin was born on 25 August 1757 in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swe ...

, Sweden, the son of the governor of

Blekinge County Blekinge County ( sv, Blekinge län) is a county or '' län'' in the south of Sweden. It borders the Counties of Skåne, Kronoberg, Kalmar and the Baltic Sea. The capital is Karlskrona. It is the smallest of the present administrative count ...

Johan von Rajalin (who was titled Baron ( ''friherre'') from 1771) and his wife Barbara Eleonora von Gertten. Appointed at the age of sixteen to

acting sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

in the Fleet of the Army, Rajalin served 1780–82 as an employee of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

. After having returned to Sweden, he quickly rose through the ranks and became, since the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

island of

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy (french: Saint-Barthélemy, ), officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. It is often abbreviated to St. Barth in French, and St. Barts in Englis ...

in 1784 came into Swedish possession, in 1785 the first Swedish governor there. From there he was transferred in 1787 to the governor location on

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to ...

and held that post for 20 years, during which he however long periods of time held different positions of trust. He was during the

Russo-Swedish War Wars between Russia and Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> ...

1788–90 military commander of the

Archipelago fleet The archipelago fleet ( sv, skärgårdsflottan), officially the "fleet of the army" ( sv, arméns flotta), was a branch of the armed forces of Sweden which existed between 1756 and 1823. Its purpose was to protect the coasts of Sweden, which was su ...

and excelled particularly in an engagement at Porkkalanniemi on 26 August 1789. After the peace treaty he became rear admiral in 1791 and was 1791–94 general commissary in the fleet. Appointed vice admiral in 1799, Rajalin was 1801–09 as acting adjutant general, rapporteur before the king in cases involving the fleet. During the

Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a re ...

in 1808 he commanded the Archipelago fleet, but resigned from this position in October of that year. Appointed in 1809 by

Charles XIII Charles XIII, or Carl XIII ( sv, Karl XIII, 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818), was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of Sw ...

to admiral, he became in 1812 governor of

Gävleborg County Gävleborg County ( sv, Gävleborgs län) is a county or '' län'' on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders the counties of Uppsala, Västmanland, Dalarna, Jämtland and Västernorrland. The capital is Gävle. Provinces Gävleborg Cou ...

, but resigned already in 1813 from this position.

Personal life and death

On 10 November 1787 in Karlskrona, he married Fredrica Lovisa Jägersköld, the daughter of vice admiral Christer Ludvig Jägersköld and his wife Anna Fredrica Grubbe. von Rajalin died childless on 23 September 1825 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

. The funeral was held at Ulrika Eleonora Church and he was buried at Klara Cemetery. When his brother died in 1826, the baronial family von Rajalin was emanated.

Dates of rank

von Rajalins' ranks:

Sweden

*14 September 1771 –

Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

*15 July 1773 –

Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

*19 February 1777 –

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 ...

*4 June 1783 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

*22 September 1784 –

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

*14 July 1787 –

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

*31 August 1787 –

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

*23 August 1790 –

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

*5 August 1799 – Vice admiral *27 September 1808 –

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

France

*1779 – ''Lieutenant des vaisseaux''

Awards and decorations

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the ...

(1801) *

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

(1797) *

Knight Grand Cross of the

(1789) *

Knight of the

(1779) *

Knight of the '' Pour le Mérite Militaire''

Honours

*Honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for m ...

(1805; president 1805–1806) *Honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences The Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Örlogsmannasällskapet, KÖMS), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. The Society is an independent organization and a forum for navy and defence i ...

(1805)

References

External links

Article
at ''

Svenskt biografiskt lexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' () is a Swedish biographical dictionary, started in 1917. The first volume, covering names ''Abelin'' to ''Anjou'', was published in 1918. As of 2017, names from A to S are covered. Volumes # ABELIN – ANJOU ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rajalin, Salomon von 1757 births 1825 deaths Swedish Navy admirals 18th-century Swedish military personnel 19th-century Swedish military personnel People of the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) Swedish military personnel of the Finnish War People from Karlskrona Governors of Gotland Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Swedish colonial governors of Saint Barthélémy