Baron Carl Nils Daniel Bildt (15 March 1850 – 26 January 1931) was a Swedish diplomat and historian. He spent most of his Foreign Office career as Swedish envoy in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and published extensively on Swedish historical topics relating to Rome and Italy.

Early life

A son of

Gillis Bildt Baron Didrik Anders Gillis Bildt (16 October 1820 – 22 October 1894) was a Swedish parliamentarian, military officer, and baron who served as the prime minister of Sweden from 1888 to 1889. A member of the Bildt family, he was the great-great ...

, he inherited the baronial title on his father's death in 1894.

Career

After a law degree from Uppsala and holding various lower-ranking diplomatic posts in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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and

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, and as state secretary for foreign affairs, he was appointed Swedish envoy to Rome in 1889. He remained there until 1902 when he was transferred to the same position in London, but returned as envoy to Rome in 1905 and remained there as envoy until his retirement in 1920. He remained in Rome after retirement, died in 1931 and was buried in the Non-Catholic Cemetery for Foreigners there. Throughout his years in Italy, Bildt published a number of works on Italian or Italo-Swedish topics, starting with his ''Anteckningar från Italien av en svensk diplomat'' ("Notes from Italy by a Swedish diplomat"), with historical descriptions of a number of Italian towns. He wrote essays on earlier Swedish visits to Italy, such as the one by King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he saw ...

in 1783, but his main focus was on

Saint Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden, OSsS ( – 23 July 1374), also known as Birgitta Birgersdotter and Birgitta of Vadstena (), was a Swedish Catholic mystic and the founder of the Bridgettines. Outside Sweden, she was also known as the Princess of Nericia ...

who spent her last years in Rome and Queen Christina, who settled there after abdicating from the Swedish throne (1654) and converting to Roman Catholicism (1655). With his excellent connections in Rome, Bildt was able to access until-then unused sources in Roman public and private archives and published articles on many previously unknown episodes in and aspects of Christina's later life. He was elected a member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

in 1901 and was a member of several foreign academies.

Personal life

Bildt was married between 1 October 1874 and 15 November 1887 to Lilian Augusta Stuart Moore (17 October 1853 – 18 December 1911), the daughter of Bloomfield Haines Moore and

Clara Jessup Moore Clara Sophia Jessup Bloomfield-Moore (February 16, 1824 – January 5, 1899) was an American philanthropist and philosopher. Biography She was born in Westfield, Massachusetts to Augustus Edward Jessop (a chemist) and Lydia Eager Mosley Jessup, ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. On 15 September 1890 he married Hedvig Alexandra Keiller (born 30 August 1864), the daughter of Alexander Keiller.

Awards and decorations

* Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

(1897) * Commander 1st Class of the

(1889) * Knight of the

(1884) *

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Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademien abbreviated KVHAA ( or or ) is the Sweden, Swedish Swedish Royal Academies, royal academy for the Humanities. Its ...

(1900) *Member of the Royal Society for Publication of Manuscripts on Scandinavian History (''Kungliga Samfundet för utgivande av handskrifter rörande Skandinaviens historia'') (1898) *Honorary doctor of philosophy at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

(31 May 1900)

References

Notes

Print

*''Vem är det? Svensk biografisk handbok 1925'', ed. Göran Lindblad. Stockholm: Norstedt, 1924. *''Vem är det? Svensk biografisk handbok 1933''. Stockholm: Norstedt, 1932.

External links

Article
on '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bildt, Carl 1850 births 1931 deaths Writers from Stockholm 20th-century Swedish historians Members of the Swedish Academy Ambassadors of Sweden to Italy Ambassadors of Sweden to the United Kingdom Swedish expatriates in the United States Swedish expatriates in France Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order

Carl Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

19th-century Swedish historians 20th-century Swedish diplomats 19th-century Swedish diplomats Children of prime ministers of Sweden