Konstantin Friedrich Peter Georgievich Oldenburg (1812 - 1881)

Born 26 Aug 1812 in Yaroslavl, Russia

Ancestors

Husband of Therese Wilhelmine Friederike Isabelle Charlotte von Nassau-Weilburg — married 23 Apr 1837 in Biebrich, Nassau, Deutscher Bund

Descendants

Died 14 May 1881 at age 68 in St. Petersburg, Russia

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Biography

From Wikipedia:

Peter Konstantin Friedrich von Holstein-Gottorp, Duke of Oldenburg, was born on 26 August 1812 in Yaroslavl, Russia. Known as "Peter Georgievich," he was the second son of Duke George of Oldenburg and HIH Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna Romanov.

Because Duke George himself was the second son of the reigning Duke of Oldenburg, with no real prospects of inheriting the Oldenburg family's estate or fortune. he had travelled to Russia to seek his fortune in St. Petersburg.

In 1809 Duke George married to Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, a daughter of Tsar Paul I and sister of Tsar Alexander I.

After their marriage, Tsar Alexander appointed Duke George of Oldenburg as governor of the Volga. Duke George's family were living at Yaroslavl when Peter Georgievich was born.

Duke George of Oldenburg died six month after Peter Georgievitch's birth.

Peter's mother, Catherine Pavlovna, was prostrate with grief. Her brother, Tsar Alexander, therefore took charge of his two nephews, and supervised their education.

The two brothers remained in Russia until their mother married King William I of Württemberg in 1816. Peter and Alexander then moved from St. Petersburg to Württemberg, where they were educated at Stuttgart.

Upon the death of their mother, in 1819, Peter and his brother were sent to live with their grandfather in Oldenburg. Their paternal uncle, the Grand Duke Augustus of Oldenburg, was the hereditary heir to the family throne, and unmarried at the time. Both boys, as potential heirs, were therefore given an extensive education by their grandfather, Duke Peter, and they were regularly sent on instructive trips around Germany to broaden their education.

In May 1829 Peter Georgievich's grandfather Peter died. After the unexpected death of his older brother Alexander in November of the same year, Peter was left bereft. His maternal uncle, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia sent for Peter, and named him a Colonel in the Imperial Life Guards.

Duke Peter quickly rose through the ranks and was subsequently appointed Lieutenant General. After four years' military service he retired, and became active in St. Petersburg government. In 1834 he was made a Russian senator, and from this time forward he began to be known as a great philanthropist, one who devoted his energies primarily to education.

Duke Peter Georgievich founded the Imperial School of Jurisprudence, at which Russia's future judges and administrators were educated, and in 1844 he was appointed head of an organization to further the education of women.

Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg was a scholar in his own right, speaking eight languages. As Honorary President of the Tsarina Maria Trust he also played a leading role in overseeing the development of hospitals in Russia, one of which in St Petersburg was called the Prince Peter of Oldenburg Children's Hospital.

During the 1830s, Peter made substantial donations to school building programs in Oldenburg, Germany, his country of origin.

On 23 April 1837 Duke Peter married Therese Wilhelmine Friederikke, Princess of Nassau-Weilburg, at Biebrich. This was a happy marriage that lasted for more than thirty years. They had eight children. Three of their children died early: A daughter, Cecilie, died in childhood in 1843 and another daughter, Catherine and a son George died from tuberculosis in 1866 and 1871 respectively.

Duke Peter Georgievich and his wife led an exemplary family life, and looked carefully after the education of their children. The family spent the winter months in Peterhof and moved for the summer to their other residence, Kamenoi-Ostroff.

Duke Peter was a talented pianist and composer. In 1842 he composed his first major piano concerto. In 1844 his second piano concerto was performed for the first time at the Mikhailovsky Palace by the great pianist Clara Schumann, and conducted by his longtime friend and colleague Adolf Henselt.

As with most Russian nobility, Duke Peter was a longtime balletomane and patron of the arts. In 1857 he was commissioned to compose the score for Marius Petipa's ballet-divertissement "La Rose, la Violette et le Papillon," which was given as a performance for the royal court at the Imperial Theatre of Tsarskoe Selo.

In 1858 Petipa extracted a Pas de Deux from the Duke's score and added it to his revival of the ballet Le Corsaire, renaming the piece the Pas d'Esclave. It is the only composition of Duke Peter's still heard today in the theater.

Many of Duke Peter's compositions were used as educational tools by the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. The composer and teacher Adolf Henselt, a close friend of the Duke's, expanded on many of his compositions in order to utilize them for instructional purposes.

Peter spent fifty years In Russia's service, for which he was widely respected. He was thanked by a massive celebration in St Petersburg in 1880, attended by most of the Imperial family, including his first cousin Tsar Alexander II of Russia, his cousin Grand Duke Nicholas of Oldenburg and representatives of the many organizations with which the Prince was connected.

Duke Peter Georgievich was close to Tsar Alexander II and took the Tsar's assassination in March 1881 very badly. He died two months later on 14 May 1881 in St. Petersburg.

Sources

• "Duke Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg" Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Peter_Georgievich_of_Oldenburg

"Constantine Friedrich Peter von Holstein-Gottorp, Duke of Oldenburg" The Peerage

http://www.thepeerage.com/p10120.htm#i101196