Homepage

Record

Authorised form of nameSpanheim; Ezekiel (1629 - 1710); Freiherr von; diplomat
Other forms of nameEzechiel
Dates1629 - 1710
NationalityGerman
Place of birthGeneva, [modern day Switzerland], Europe
Date of birth7 December 1629
Place of deathLondon, England, United Kingdom Europe
Date of death25 October 1710
DatesAndPlacesBurial:
St Paul's chapel, Westminster Abbey, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe (18 November 1710)
OccupationDiplomat
Research fieldPolitics
Numismatics
ActivityEducation:
Leyden; Cambridge (DD 1689); Oxford (DCL 1706)
Career:
Professor of Rhetoric at Geneva (1651); Member of the City Council (1652); Tutor to the children of Karl Ludwig, Elector Palatine, at Heidelberg (1656); undertook various diplomatic missions (from 1661); travelled to Italy (1664); Envoy of the Palatinate to Charles II (1674, 1678); Privy Councillor to the Elector of Brandenburg (1680); Prussian Envoy to France; returned to Berlin when relations were broken off between Prussia and France (1689); Ambassador Extraordinary from the King of Prussia to England (1702)
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election03/02/1679
Age at election49
ProposerTheodor Haak
Other Royal Society activityVery occasional correspondent to Robert Boyle (FRS 1663)
RelationshipsParents: Dr Frederick Spanheim and Charlotte du Port
Married: Anna-Elizabeth Kolb
Children: Mary Ann de la Rochefoucauld
Additional relatives: Ludwig Friedrich Bonet (FRS 1711)
OtherInfoIn the late 1650s, while employed as a tutor, Spanheim wrote a political treatise on the Palatinate and the claims of the Bavarian duchy. As a diplomat, he was privy to close insights into and involved in the political and geopolitical developments of the time, for example the Peace of Ryswick 1697, which ended the war between France and the alliance of England, Spain, Austria, and the Dutch Republic. Towards the end of his life, he sold his library to the Prussian King Friedrich I. Overall, he was not particularly active in the Royal Society's work and did not pay after his initial admission fee.
SourceSources:
Bulloch's Roll; Venn; Foster; DBE; ADB
Notes:
There is no other evidence he was in Cambridge in 1689, but it seems unlikely that it was another 'Monsieur Spanheim' (His brother Friedrich the younger does not appear to have any English connection).
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/22269855
CodeNA8149
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
IM/004330Spanheim, Ezekiel von1702
Add to My Items
    Papers of Colin Pillinger

    Papers of Colin Pillinger

    Useful Links

    Collection highlights

    Browse the records of some of our collections, which cover all branches of science and date from the 12th century onwards. These include the published works of Fellows of the Royal Society, personal papers of eminent scientists, letters and manuscripts sent to the Society or presented at meetings, and administrative records documenting the Society's activities since our foundation in 1660.

    The mammals of Australia
    The mammals of Australia
    Campi Phlegraei
    Campi Phlegraei
    Papers of Elsie Widdowson and Robert McCance
    Papers of Elsie Widdowson and Robert McCance
    Papers of Colin Pillinger
    Papers of Colin Pillinger
    Browse Collections

    The Royal Society

    The Royal Society is a Fellowship of many of
    the world's most eminent scientists and is the
    oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.
    Registered charity number 207043

    Website design ©CalmView



    CONTACT US

    + 44 207 451 2500
    (Lines open Mon-Fri, 9:00-17:00. Excludes bank holidays)

    6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG

    Email Us →

    SUBSCRIBE

    Subscribe to our newsletters to be updated with the
    latest news on innovation, events, articles and reports.

    Subscribe →

    © CalmView