Author: Stolberg, Friedrich Leopold
Biography:
STOLBERG, Friedrich Leopold (1750-1819: NBG)
Stolberg, “one of the most distinguished characters of Germany” in the view of the British press when he died in 1819, was actually a Danish count and diplomat, but he was born in Germany, studied at German universities, wrote his literary works in German, retired to Germany, and died at his estate in Lower Saxony. With his older brother Christian (1748-1821), he published Gedichte (Poems, 1779), probably the most influential and inspiring of their collaborations. The young Coleridge (q.v.) was one of their British admirers and wrote his own “imitations” from them. The brothers travelled together in Germany and Switzerland in the mid-70s and Friedrich’s book of travels based on that expedition, Reise (Travels, 1794), was the first volume-length work of his translated into English, by Thomas Holcroft (q.v.) in 1796. The poem here was the first book of his poetry to be translated, by John Whitehouse (q.v.). Stolberg joined the Danish diplomatic service as a “minister plenipotentiary” in 1777 and travelled extensively on various missions, including one to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1796 to observe the transition of rule after the death of Catherine the Great. He made two marriages, the first to Agnes von Witzleben in 1782, and the second, after her death in 1788, to Sophie von Redern; there were four children from the first marriage and there may have been more from the second. In 1800 he converted to Roman Catholicism, gave up all his political positions, and retired to Germany, first to Munster and later to Sondermühlen, near Osnabrück, where he died on 5 Dec. 1819. Stolberg was a prolific writer in many genres. In poetry alone he wrote odes, hymns, songs, elegies, etc. His works in prose include a life of Alfred the Great; translations of Home, Plato, and Ossian; and a history of the Christian religion in 15 vols. (1816-18) which was carried on by others after his death. (NBG 44 cols. 518-20; EB; British Press 27 Dec. 1819)
STRANG, John (b c. 1780: findmypast.com)
The best evidence about John Strang comes from his works and from census records. He was born in Scotland about 1780 but exact details are lacking. He must have had a good classical education, since his poetry is urbane and includes imitations of Horace with the Latin and English on facing pages. Strang trained as a surgeon and joined the navy in 1799. In 1812 he published two books, The Cruise: with Other Poems and Letters to a Student of Medicine . . . with a Comparison of the Conditions of Naval, Military, and Private Practitioners. The volume of verse is dedicated to Captain George Scott (1783-1867), whom he had served under. One of the poems is an elegy for another Scottish naval surgeon, Andrew Craig. It also includes a poem about his decision to retire from active duty. He went on half-pay and appears to have lived on that for the rest of his life—but he might also have had independent means, or have married well. On 30 Apr. 1813, as ship’s surgeon of HMS Corso, he married Sophia Douglas of Portsea, Hampshire, at Portsea. They had an only child, William, born in the same year, who became a physician with a practice in Brighton, Sussex, and a family of his own. In the census of 1841 they are all listed as living at Hampshire Terrace, Portsea. By 1851 John Strang was a widower, head of a household at Westbourne, Sussex, with his son, daughter-in-law, two grandchildren, and two servants. By 1861 he was living at Brighton in the household of his son William. No death record has as yet been found. (findmypast.com 11 Dec. 2024; ancestry.com 11 Dec. 2024; The Globe 3 Mar. 2024)
Other Names:
- Frederic Leopold Stolberg