Stanisław August Poniatowski (1835–1908)

Joseph Stanislaw August Friedrich Joseph Telêmaco Luci Poniatowski (9 November 1835 – 6 January 1908) was a Polish nobleman, member of the House of Poniatowski.

Stanisław August Poniatowski
Coat of arms
BornJoseph Stanislaw August Friedrich Joseph Telêmaco Luci Poniatowski
(1835-11-09)9 November 1835
Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Died6 January 1908(1908-01-06) (aged 72)
Paris, France
FamilyPoniatowski
Spouse(s)Louise Le Hon
FatherJózef Michał Poniatowski
MotherMatilda Perotti

Early life

Poniatowski was born in Florence in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany on 9 November 1835. He was the son of son of Prince Józef Michał Poniatowski and Countess Matilda Perotti (1814–1875).[1] His father was a composer and a singer, who was sent to Paris as plenipotentiary by Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II, and created the first Conte di Monte Rotondo in 1847, and the first Principe di Monte Rotondo in 1850. In 1854, Napoleon III made him a senator and a naturalized French citizen.[2][lower-alpha 1]

His paternal grandparents were Cassandra Luci and Prince Stanisław Poniatowski, who served as Grand Treasurer of Lithuania under his uncle, the last King of Poland Stanisław August Poniatowski.[5] His great-grandfather Prince Kazimierz Poniatowski was the eldest son of Stanisław Poniatowski and Konstancja Czartoryska.[1]

Career

Prince Poniatowski served as Master of Horse to Emperor Napoleon III of France.[6][7] In his obituary, the Marquise de Fontenoy wrote:[1]

"The late Prince Stanislas was in may respects an unlucky man; that is to say, he missed several great opportunities. Thus, on the occasion of the memorable visit of Alexander II, of Russia to Paris in 1867 he had been assigned to attend the two emperors on the occasion of the great review held at Longchamps.

Not only had the prince just arrived tired but by a hurried journey from Florence on the morning of the review, but he likewise experienced extraordinary difficulty in getting into the high patent leather boots which formed part and parcel of his uniform as equerry.

One of his fellow equerries, Raimbaud, happened to be calling upon him, and on the prince giving expression to his fatigue and to his disinclination to go on duty, Raimbaud offered to take his place, which Poniatowski gratefully accepted, placing at Raimbaud's disposal his own favorite charger.

Raimbaud had just time to get into his uniform and to take his place on Poniatowski's charger alongside of the imperial equipage when the latter, containing the emperors of Russia and of France, the czarowitz, afterwards Alexander III, and his brother, the Grand Duke Vladimir, started from the Tuileries for the review.

On the return to the city from Longchamps after the great military pageant was over the attempt of Berezowski on the life of the czar took place in the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne. The would-be assassin's bullet was prevented from reaching its billet through the presence of mind of the equerry Raimbaud, who on catching sight of the pistol had spurred his horse, or rather the horse of Poniatowski, forward in such a fashion as to shield the two emporers, and to receive the missile, the horse, which bore the name of Cadogan, falling to the ground mortally wounded.

Of course, Raimbaud was overwhelmed with gratitude by the czar and by Napoleon III, who created him a count, while orders of knighthood were showered upon him by every monarch in Europe."[1]

Personal life

In 1856, he "created a great sensation by marrying" Leopoldina Louise le Hon (1838–1931), the daughter of Count Charles Le Hon and Fanny Mosselman, Countess Le Hon, although she was biologically the daughter of her mother's lover, Charles de Morny, Duke of Morny.[1] Together, they had five children, three of whom survived to adulthood, including:[8]

Prince Poniatowski died in Paris on 6 January 1908.[1]

Descendants

Through his son Andre, he was a grandfather of Prince Casimir Poniatowski (1897–1980) (who married Countess Anne de Caraman-Chimay and was the father of French politician Michel Poniatowski) and Prince André Poniatowski (1899–1977), who married American heiress Frances Alice Willing Lawrance, a daughter of Francis C. Lawrance Jr. and Susan Ridgway (née Willing) Lawrance and cousin to Vincent Astor and Ava Alice Muriel Astor (through Alice's maternal aunt, Ava Lowle Willing).[16][17]

References

Notes
  1. After the fall of the French empire in 1870, Poniatowski went into exile in England,[3] as did Napoleon III, his wife, Empress Eugénie, and their son Louis-Napoléon, Prince Imperial at Chislehurst, Kent, where Poniatowski died in 1873.[4]

Sources
  1. Marquise de Fontenoy (14 January 1908). "Prince Stanislas Poniatowski". Chicago Tribune. p. 8. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  2. Shaman, William; Smith, Edward Joseph; Collins, William J.; Goodwin, Calvin M. (1999). More EJS: Discography of the Edward J. Smith Recordings : "Unique Opera Records Corporation" (1972-1977), "A.N.N.A. Record Company" (1978-1982), "special-label" Issues (circa 1954-1981), and Addendum to "The Golden Age of Opera" Series. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-313-29835-6. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. "A Musical Prince". The New York Times. 22 June 1872. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  4. "FRANCE.; VERDICT AGAINST AMERICAN JOURNALISTS FOR LICEL--THE RANC-CASSAGNAC DUEL". The New York Times. 5 July 1873. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  5. "Prince Poniatowski". Mount Carmel Item. 18 January 1908. p. 4. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  6. "PRINCE PONIATOWSKI, AN INDUSTRIALIST, 90". The New York Times. 18 March 1954. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  7. "TRAGEDY OF AN EMPRESS". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 13 November 1908. p. 14. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  8. Almanach de Gotha: annuaire généalogique, diplomatique et statistique (in French). J. Perthes. 1893. p. 432. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  9. "DIED -- PONIATOWSKI". The New York Times. 7 May 1906. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  10. "COL. ELY GODDARD DEAD.; Union Club Member Dies of Typhoid Fever In New York Hospital". The New York Times. 20 October 1910. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  11. "HIS PRINCESS AN AMERICAN". The New York Times. 14 May 1884. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  12. Archives de Paris, Arrondissement 16, Mariages, Commence à 12 mars 1884, Termine à 22 avril 1884, Cote V4E 7285, acte 152, vue 17, consulté le 21 juillet 2020.
  13. TIMES, Special Correspondence THE NEW YORK (9 February 1908). "PRINCE PONIATOWSKI ON AMERICAN FINANCE; The Famous French Economist Says We Will Overcome All Our Difficulties. RECOVERY WILL BE RAPID Situation To-day Not at All Like That of 1893 -- Every Essential Condition Better Now Than Then". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  14. "PRINCESS PONIATOWSKI DEAD; She Was Elizabeth H. Sperry, Sister of Mrs. Crocker of San Francisco". The New York Times. 7 August 1911. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  15. "MISS LAWRANCE WEDS PRINCE'S SON Daughter of Mrs. Francis C. Lawrance of New York Marries Andre Poniatowski. | CEREMONY HELD IN PARIS | Bride is Sister of Baroness Ribblesdale, Once the Wife of the late Colonel John Jacob Astor" (PDF). The New York Times. December 29, 1919. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  16. Staff (December 5, 1919). "Frances Lawrance Asks 160,000-Franc Allowance to Wed Prince Poniatowski" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  17. "MME. PONIATOWSKA SEEKS MORE INCOME Referee Recommends Additional $19,000 Grant from Francis Lawrence Fund. BRIDE OF FRENCH OFFICER His Means small and She Wishes to Open a House in Paris" (PDF). The New York Times. March 7, 1920. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
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