Diederik Tuyll van Serooskerken

Diederik Jacob van Tuyll van Serooskerken (Russian: Fyodor Vasilyevich Teil van Seraskerken; 6 April 1772 – 11 April 1826) was a Dutch nobleman who served as a major general in the Imperial Russian Army, and later as the third Russian ambassador to the United States.

Diederik Tuyll van Serooskerken
Portrait by George Dawe
Russian ambassador to the United States
In office
19 April 1823 – 11 April 1826 (1823-04-19 – 1826-04-11)
EmperorAlexander I; Nicholas I
Preceded byPyotr Ivanovich Poletika
Succeeded byPaul Ludwig von Krüdener
Personal details
Born
Diederik Jacob van Tuyll van Serooskerken

(1772-04-06)6 April 1772
The Hague, Dutch Republic
Died11 April 1826(1826-04-11) (aged 54)
off Halifax, Nova Scotia
Resting placeSt. Peter's Cemetery, Halifax
SpouseAgnes Margaretha Fagel
Awards
Military service
Branch Imperial Russian Army
Service years1803–1826
RankMajor-general
WarsNapoleonic Wars

Biography edit

Tuyll van Serooskerken was born on 6 April 1772, in The Hague. He served in the Dutch army until November 1803. He later joined the Imperial Russian Army and fought in the Napoleonic Wars as a major general.

After the war, he served various diplomatic positions for Russia in the Kingdom of Naples and Holy See. On 19 April 1823, he was appointed by Czar Alexander I of Russia to be the Russian ambassador to the United States.[1] Tuyll was Russian ambassador at a time when Russia was asserting claims to Alaska and American Secretary of State John Quincy Adams was formulating what would come to be known as the Monroe Doctrine, portions of which were shown to Tuyll prior to their publication in an address to Congress. [2] He served until 1826, and died on 11 April that same year during a sea voyage from his Washington posting.[3]

He was buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in St. Peter's Cemetery, in April 1826. His grave is unmarked and lies under a parking lot built on top of the cemetery.[4]

References edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Nichols 1972, p. 446.
  2. ^ James Traub (2016). John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit. New York: Basic Books. pp. 169–170, 253–255. ISBN 978-0-465-02827-6.
  3. ^ "Historie van het geslacht van Tuyll van Serooskerken" (in Dutch). Vantuyll. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  4. ^ Pollock, G. D.; et al. (12 December 2015). "St. Peter's/St. Mary's Burial Registers". Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia. Retrieved 8 June 2019.

Sources edit