The Boston Globe
Ben DeFelice, 79; Providence native who aided, comforted CIA relatives
By Adam Bernstein, Washington Post | April 10, 2004
WASHINGTON -- Ben DeFelice, the Providence native who spent two
decades handling one of the Central Intelligence Agency's most
delicate assignments -- consoling relatives of CIA employees who were
missing, captured, or killed in the line of duty -- died of cancer
Monday at Virginia Hospital Center-Arlington. The resident of Fairfax,
Va., was 79.
Mr. DeFelice was involved in the case of Richard Fecteau of Lynn, a
retired assistant athletic director at Boston University, who was shot
down in 1952 while working for the CIA and was held by China until
1971.
As chief of the casualty-affairs branch and then deputy director of
personnel, Mr. DeFelice helped create a system to look after the
financial interests of employees who were detained or missing while on
assignment for the CIA.
He was also the agency's liaison with those agents' families and used
frequent phone calls and personal visits to smooth over relations with
relatives who viewed the CIA with distrust.
Working with the Red Cross and the State Department, he helped get
food packages to captive CIA employees and arrange for family visits.
He served 20 years as chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Prisoners,
composed largely of CIA employees with operational experience. "But
its real purpose, as devised by DeFelice, was to set up an ongoing
forum that would ensure that the men were not forgotten," Ted Gup
wrote in his book "The Book of Honor: Covert Lives and Classified
Deaths at the CIA."
CIA Director George Tenet said in a statement that Mr. DeFelice "set
the highest standards in care and compassion. Over a long career, Ben
pioneered major benefit programs -- including retirement and medical
insurance -- that reflect a profound concern for the men and women who
serve their country in intelligence."
Mr. DeFelice persuaded the agency to provide retirement, health, and
life insurance benefits to US citizens working on contract for the
agency. He also got the authority to invest the salaries of missing
and captured employees instead of keeping the money in standard
accounts that would accrue far less interest. In figuring salary
adjustments, he also calculated career promotions that the employees
might have received had they remained operational.
Mr. DeFelice played a role in several well-publicized espionage cases.
He handled the personal affairs of Francis Gary Powers when the
Russians shot down his U-2 surveillance plane in 1960 and held him for
two years. Powers was released in exchange for jailed Soviet operative
Rudolf Abel.
Mr. DeFelice was also involved in the case of Hugh Redmond, a CIA
officer who was arrested in China in 1951 for supporting
anticommunists. Redmond died in jail in 1970; Chinese authorities
claimed he had killed himself with a razor.
Mr. DeFelice saw a better outcome in the matter of John Downey and
Fecteau, two CIA employees whom the Chinese government shot down over
Manchuria in 1952 during the Korean War. For two years, their fate was
unknown, and the CIA declared them dead.
Then in 1954, the Chinese tried them for espionage and gave Fecteau a
20-year sentence and Downey a life term. In a prelude to President
Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China, Fecteau was released in
1971. Downey was freed in 1973.
Fecteau, now 76, said Mr. DeFelice "was a very warm and friendly guy,
down to earth. He never acted like a bureaucrat."
Fecteau said Mr. DeFelice took care to comfort his mother. "His
assurances kept up her faith and courage," he said. "He would walk in,
like my mother said, like a next-door neighbor. He never acted
officious to her."
Downey, 73, a retired Superior Court judge in New Haven, said Mr.
DeFelice also had a special rapport with his mother, who at first did
not think the CIA was doing enough to secure her son's release.
"When Ben was first assigned to the case, he thought she was the
biggest pain in the neck, and she was relentless in trying to keep our
name before government officials," Downey said. "He grew to love her,
and she was fond of him and had a very warm and loving relationship as
the years rolled by."
Benedetto DeFelice was the youngest of four children born to Italian
immigrants. During his Army service in World War II, he played trumpet
in a band that performed at military functions in southern Italy.
He was a 1949 graduate of Georgetown University's foreign service
school and a 1954 graduate of Georgetown's law school, where he was
fourth in his class. He began working for the CIA in 1953, became
chief of the casualty-affairs branch in the mid-1950s, and was deputy
director of personnel from 1973 to 1983.
He retired in 1987 as director of information services. He processed
freedom of information requests and balanced them against the CIA's
security needs. He also met with historians to review the agency's
process of declassifying documents for the public.
His decorations included the Career Intelligence Medal and two awards
of the Distinguished Intelligence Medal. In September 1997, when the
CIA celebrated its 50th anniversary, Mr. DeFelice was named a
trailblazer, one of 50 officers who made defining contributions to the
agency.
At the time of the ceremony, The Washington Post reported that he
often attended funeral services and handed a family member a letter of
condolence from the CIA's director. He would read the letter in the
presence of a CIA officer and then spirit it back to the office
because of security concerns.
Medals were also handled that way, because, he said, "we didn't want
to impose an unnecessary burden on the widow."
He leaves his wife of 57 years, Alma Gregory DeFelice of Fairfax;
three children, Peter G. of Washington, Mary A. of Fairfax and Paul A.
of Lake Ridge, Va.; two brothers; and three grandchildren.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Ben DeFelice CIA
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Alma DeFelice
-->
ALMA GREGORY DeFELICE
On September 1, 2006, wife of the late Benedetto DeFelice; mother of
Gregory, Mary, Paul and the late Philip; grandmother of Christopher,
Nicholas and Rebecca; sister of Myrtle Davis and the late Roy and Paul
Gregory; daughter of the late Bolden and Mamie (DeBruhl) Gregory.
Originally from Union, SC, she was a long time resident of Arlington,
VA and most recently a resident of Springfield, VA. On Monday, October
16, the family will receive friends from 4 to 7 p.m. at MURPHY'S
FUNERAL HOME, 4510 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA. A memorial service is
planned for 1 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17 at the Fort Myer Chapel,
followed by interment at Arlington National Cemetery and a reception
at the Fort Myer Officers' Club.
Published in The Washington Post on Oct. 18 2006
Alma's hobby was researching family history. Her mother was Mamie DeBruhl from
the South Carolina branch of the DeBruhl family. Alma attended the DeBruhl family reunion
held in Mars Hill, NC each year and shared her research with the family members.
She traveled with her husband Ben DeFelice and would do research while Ben was tending to
CIA business. One of her travels landed them in Nassau, The Bahamas, on a whim she stopped
off at the library/historic society and started doing research. Her research uncovered a veritable
treasure trove of DeBruhl family history, Michael Samuel DeBruhl Jr was living in the Bahamas during the American Revolution and was appointed after the Revolution to settle a court case which resulted in all the court records and affidavits were securely stored away from the war in the colonies and preserved. This find by Alma unlocked the early history of the DeBruhl family history starting with the landing of the family of Michael Samuel DeBruhl and Margaret Pring DeBruhl in 1749 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And their migration to New York and thence to the Carolina's. Alma was a real good friend and distant cousin. Norman DeBruhl.
ALMA GREGORY DeFELICE
On September 1, 2006, wife of the late Benedetto DeFelice; mother of
Gregory, Mary, Paul and the late Philip; grandmother of Christopher,
Nicholas and Rebecca; sister of Myrtle Davis and the late Roy and Paul
Gregory; daughter of the late Bolden and Mamie (DeBruhl) Gregory.
Originally from Union, SC, she was a long time resident of Arlington,
VA and most recently a resident of Springfield, VA. On Monday, October
16, the family will receive friends from 4 to 7 p.m. at MURPHY'S
FUNERAL HOME, 4510 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA. A memorial service is
planned for 1 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17 at the Fort Myer Chapel,
followed by interment at Arlington National Cemetery and a reception
at the Fort Myer Officers' Club.
Published in The Washington Post on Oct. 18 2006
Alma's hobby was researching family history. Her mother was Mamie DeBruhl from
the South Carolina branch of the DeBruhl family. Alma attended the DeBruhl family reunion
held in Mars Hill, NC each year and shared her research with the family members.
She traveled with her husband Ben DeFelice and would do research while Ben was tending to
CIA business. One of her travels landed them in Nassau, The Bahamas, on a whim she stopped
off at the library/historic society and started doing research. Her research uncovered a veritable
treasure trove of DeBruhl family history, Michael Samuel DeBruhl Jr was living in the Bahamas during the American Revolution and was appointed after the Revolution to settle a court case which resulted in all the court records and affidavits were securely stored away from the war in the colonies and preserved. This find by Alma unlocked the early history of the DeBruhl family history starting with the landing of the family of Michael Samuel DeBruhl and Margaret Pring DeBruhl in 1749 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And their migration to New York and thence to the Carolina's. Alma was a real good friend and distant cousin. Norman DeBruhl.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Catherine The Great Art Collection
The Beginning of a “Great” Collection
By the end of the eighteenth century
the Hermitage was already one of Europe’s finest museums. Catherine the Great
had acquired not only a wide variety of classical works, but also paintings by
contemporary western artists. Catherine defined the trends in collecting, which
set high standards that have been impossible to ignore ever since. In addition,
her interest in the Enlightenment Movement in the 18th century bridged the gap between
Eastern and Western Europe. Though Catherine’s relationship with the great
philosopher Voltaire began as a publicity move, the two quickly became close
friends. Catherine knew her letters to Voltaire were actually a message sent
directly to the intelligentsia living in Europe.
Catherine began building her
collection just one year after she reached the throne. Catherine saw herself
foremost as an intellectual, so she judged the paintings she purchased not for
their visual beauty or artistic technique, but for their intellectual and
narrative content. Her first sizable purchase was in 1773, when she purchased a
collection of 225 paintings from an art dealer in Berlin. The collection was
originally destined for King Frederick II of Prussia. Among the 225 paintings,
there were only five masterpieces – three Rembrandts, a Franz Hals and a
Rubens. In 1769 Catherine scooped up the famous Dresden collection belonging to
the late Count Heinrich von Brühl. The collection included four
Rembrandts, a Caravaggio and five works by Rubens. In 1771 Catherine purchased
the famous collection of Pierre Crozat, which included eight Rembrandts, four
by Veronese, twelve by Rubens, seven by Van Dyck and several by Raphael, Titian
and Tintoretto.
Perhaps Catherine’s greatest conquest was England’s famed Walpole
Collection. In 1778 the empress received news that the spendthrift grandson and
heir of Sir Robert Walpole wanted to sell the family’s entire collection. The
collection represented the finest and most famous private art collection in
England, among the finest in the world. Sir Robert Walpole had dedicated nearly
forty years of his life to building a collection of almost two hundred
paintings, which included Rembrandt’s Abraham’s Sacrifice of Isaac,
fifteen works by Van Dyck and thirteen by Rubens. The Walpole Collection
confirmed Catherine’s reputation as Europe’s foremost collector of art. During
her reign her collection grew to almost four thousand paintings, making her the
greatest collector and patron of art in the history of Europe
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Scots of Harden
The Scots of Harden
Hugh Scott, the son of Mr Walter Scott and Lady Diana, eleventh Baron of Harden, was born in 1758.
He was elected member of Parliament for Berwickshire in 1780-an honor which lost him a fine estate.
( See vol 1 404) He married in 1795 Harriet, daughter of Hans Maurice Count de Bruhl Saxon Ambassador at the British Court. Sir Walter Scott, then a young man, was introduced to the lady shortly after marriage, and she gave him great assistance in his translations from the German.
He used to say that she was the first woman of real fashion that took him up, that she used the privilege of her sex and station in the truest spirit of kindness, set him right as to a thousand little
trifles which no one else could have ventured to notice, and, in short, did for him what no one but an
elegant woman can do for a young man whose early days have been spent in narrow and provincial
circles. She continued through life his attached friend, and the letters which he wrote to her
( the last of them from Naples 1832) show how cordially he reciprocated her esteem and regard.
Of Harden himself, Sir Walter wrote to the Duke of Buccleuch in 1817, I have known Harden long,
and most intimately- a more respectable man, either fir feeling, or talent, or knowledge of human life,
is rarely to be met with.
Hugh Scott, the son of Mr Walter Scott and Lady Diana, eleventh Baron of Harden, was born in 1758.
He was elected member of Parliament for Berwickshire in 1780-an honor which lost him a fine estate.
( See vol 1 404) He married in 1795 Harriet, daughter of Hans Maurice Count de Bruhl Saxon Ambassador at the British Court. Sir Walter Scott, then a young man, was introduced to the lady shortly after marriage, and she gave him great assistance in his translations from the German.
He used to say that she was the first woman of real fashion that took him up, that she used the privilege of her sex and station in the truest spirit of kindness, set him right as to a thousand little
trifles which no one else could have ventured to notice, and, in short, did for him what no one but an
elegant woman can do for a young man whose early days have been spent in narrow and provincial
circles. She continued through life his attached friend, and the letters which he wrote to her
( the last of them from Naples 1832) show how cordially he reciprocated her esteem and regard.
Of Harden himself, Sir Walter wrote to the Duke of Buccleuch in 1817, I have known Harden long,
and most intimately- a more respectable man, either fir feeling, or talent, or knowledge of human life,
is rarely to be met with.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Sir William Johnson Coat of Arms DeBruhl Engraver
In the Johnson Papers there is no further mention of a coat of arms until January 10, 1763
In a letter from William Darlington of New York, to Johnson of that date the former writes
"Mr. Weyman seems not to understand the directions in Regard to the Coat of Arms and directed me to One Debrul's Engraver. Enclosed is a letter from him about it.
The letter from DeBrul's is as follows: Mr Darlington hath Aquainted me Your commands concerning your coat of arms, the Engraving of the Same will cost four pound. The printing
and coloring the same proper will cost two pound per hundred or Twenty Pound per Thousand.
Your Most Obed
Serv
Michael DeBruls ( DeBruhl)
In Johnson's reply to this letter, which Johnson addressed not to DeBruls but to Darlington, on January 29, 1763, he objected to the price, said he could get the prints of them for less in London and finally commissioned Darlington to offer 5 pounds for my Coat of Arms only printed and 4 pounds for your plate which is to be mine.
Other letters on the subject have unfortunately been burned, but the Calendar of the Sir William
Johnson Manuscripts shows (p. 160,169) that Darlington wrote further about them on February 21, 1763, and that on May 6, 1763, he mentioned sending the copper plates, and denounced DeBruls for his charges.
In some of Johnson's library books that have come down to us there are his bookplates bearing his coat of arms, an illustration of which appears in this volume. It would seem probable that these represent the order for one thousand copies which Johnson placed with DeBruls (DeBruhl) through Darlington.
The use of his arms on his bookplate would explain the quantity of prints ordered. None of these plates which we have seen are in color, seeming to indicate that Johnson lived up to his intention of refusing to pay a price which he regarded as exorbitant.
At what time Johnson had drawn the design of his coat of arms from which DeBruls made his engraving we have no exact information. It may have been previous to the date of his brother Warren's letter, but it seems probable that it was between 1755 and 1762, for in the former year he received his baronetcy, giving him the right to have the red hand of Ulster in his coat of arms, and in the latter year appeared a plan or Map of his Niagara campaign on which the same coat of arms appears as on the bookplate ( Johnson Papers, lll: vii 81) We know DeBruhl engraved maps of Niagara and Fort Ticonderoga The Fort Niagara map has the coat of arms of Sir William Johnson signed by Michael DeBruls and Son Godart DeBruls (DeBruhl)source New York Iconography) The only marked difference between the two is that on the map the red hand of Ulster does not appear in the small escutcheon which is left blank and the panoply of flags appears on a standard apart from the coat of arms.
Plan of Fort Niagara and vicinity in 1759
From a map published in 1762, now in possession of Peter A Porter of Niagara Fall, N.Y.
Only the western half of the map is known to be in existence.
Drawn by Michael Samuel DeBruhl and son Godard DeBruhl leading engravers in New York
in that time period. Both the map and Sir William Johnson's family coat of arms on the map
were the work of Michael Samuel DeBruhl and son Godart DeBruhl.
Sir William Johnson papers
E 195
J 62 Vol 3
The Seven Years War
In a letter from William Darlington of New York, to Johnson of that date the former writes
"Mr. Weyman seems not to understand the directions in Regard to the Coat of Arms and directed me to One Debrul's Engraver. Enclosed is a letter from him about it.
The letter from DeBrul's is as follows: Mr Darlington hath Aquainted me Your commands concerning your coat of arms, the Engraving of the Same will cost four pound. The printing
and coloring the same proper will cost two pound per hundred or Twenty Pound per Thousand.
Your Most Obed
Serv
Michael DeBruls ( DeBruhl)
In Johnson's reply to this letter, which Johnson addressed not to DeBruls but to Darlington, on January 29, 1763, he objected to the price, said he could get the prints of them for less in London and finally commissioned Darlington to offer 5 pounds for my Coat of Arms only printed and 4 pounds for your plate which is to be mine.
Other letters on the subject have unfortunately been burned, but the Calendar of the Sir William
Johnson Manuscripts shows (p. 160,169) that Darlington wrote further about them on February 21, 1763, and that on May 6, 1763, he mentioned sending the copper plates, and denounced DeBruls for his charges.
In some of Johnson's library books that have come down to us there are his bookplates bearing his coat of arms, an illustration of which appears in this volume. It would seem probable that these represent the order for one thousand copies which Johnson placed with DeBruls (DeBruhl) through Darlington.
The use of his arms on his bookplate would explain the quantity of prints ordered. None of these plates which we have seen are in color, seeming to indicate that Johnson lived up to his intention of refusing to pay a price which he regarded as exorbitant.
At what time Johnson had drawn the design of his coat of arms from which DeBruls made his engraving we have no exact information. It may have been previous to the date of his brother Warren's letter, but it seems probable that it was between 1755 and 1762, for in the former year he received his baronetcy, giving him the right to have the red hand of Ulster in his coat of arms, and in the latter year appeared a plan or Map of his Niagara campaign on which the same coat of arms appears as on the bookplate ( Johnson Papers, lll: vii 81) We know DeBruhl engraved maps of Niagara and Fort Ticonderoga The Fort Niagara map has the coat of arms of Sir William Johnson signed by Michael DeBruls and Son Godart DeBruls (DeBruhl)source New York Iconography) The only marked difference between the two is that on the map the red hand of Ulster does not appear in the small escutcheon which is left blank and the panoply of flags appears on a standard apart from the coat of arms.
Plan of Fort Niagara and vicinity in 1759
From a map published in 1762, now in possession of Peter A Porter of Niagara Fall, N.Y.
Only the western half of the map is known to be in existence.
Drawn by Michael Samuel DeBruhl and son Godard DeBruhl leading engravers in New York
in that time period. Both the map and Sir William Johnson's family coat of arms on the map
were the work of Michael Samuel DeBruhl and son Godart DeBruhl.
Sir William Johnson papers
E 195
J 62 Vol 3
The Seven Years War
Ships of the Great Expedition to Found the City of Halifax
May 14th 1749 Captain General Edward Cornwallis and his staff left England in the sloop of war Sphinx.
The Transports left some days later, slowly making their way down the Channel, calling at Portsmouth, and finally setting forth on the long voyage to Halifax, Nova Scotia. A land almost as unknown as the dark side of the moon.
They carried 2576 passengers for Chebucto, distributed as follows:
Charlton 395 tons 213 passengers
Cannon 342 " 190 " Michael DeBruhl family
Winchelsea 559 303
Merry Jacks 378 230
Alexander 320 172
Beaufort 541 287
Rockhampton 232 77
Everly 351 186
London 550 315
Brotherhood -- 27
Baltimore 411 226
Fair Lady -- 10
In addition to these transports there was the Sphinx with Cornwallis and his suite, the transport Sarah, which sailed later from Liverpool with the hospital stores and staff, the small vessel Union, and other store ships. All in all, the first fleet probably carried three thousand people to Chebucto.
The Sphinx steered for Cape Race, that famous landmark on the way to the New World, and met head winds. The transports took a more southerly course and had better weather, so that despite their tubish hulls they arrived on the coast only a few days behind the captain-general.
The Sphinx sighted the coast of Nova Scotia on June 14: but as nobody on board had ever seen it before, and there was no chart worthy of the name, she stood offshore until she met by good fortune a Yankee sloop carrying two pilots to the British garrison at Louisburg. With these she
headed for the land, touched at Merliguish (the site of Lunenburg), and entered Chebucto on June 21, 1749 a date celebrated by Haligonians ever since.
The command of this venture into the wilds was given to Colonel Edward Cornwallis, a handsome military bachelor of thirty-six who had fought at Fontenoy, commanded a regiment in the Highlands against Prince Charlie, and now was anxious to distinguish himself in Nova Scotia.
He had turned over his regiment in the Highlands to a Major Wolf, who would distinguish himself in Nova Scotia later on. Horace Walpole speaks of Cornwallis as "a brave sensible young man of great temper and good nature"-a perfect picture of the man- and Wolfe afterwards mentioned Cornwallis' "approved courage and fidelity".
More than this, Cornwallis was incorruptible- a very rare quality in colonial governors of his time. He was slender, somewhat over middle height, an aristocrat to his fingertips, conscious of his dignity and inclined to be cool and ceremonious except when the "great temper" took charge. We are told he had a pleasant voice, fine eyes, and a winning expression. Later on his voice acquired a rasp, and so did his pen, as troubles mounted and the harsh winters of the new colony destroyed his health.
His aide and right-hand man was a young army bachelor like himself, Richard Bulkeley, tall, handsome, Irish, wealthy, a former king's messenger and captain of dragoons whose equipment for the wilderness included a valet,groom, a butler, three blood horses and a vast amount of baggage. Another aide was Captain Horatio Gates son of the Duke of Leeds on the wrong side of the blanket, a capable young officer who in later years was to make his name famous on the wrong side of the field in the American Revolution.
Raddell Warden of North
The Transports left some days later, slowly making their way down the Channel, calling at Portsmouth, and finally setting forth on the long voyage to Halifax, Nova Scotia. A land almost as unknown as the dark side of the moon.
They carried 2576 passengers for Chebucto, distributed as follows:
Charlton 395 tons 213 passengers
Cannon 342 " 190 " Michael DeBruhl family
Winchelsea 559 303
Merry Jacks 378 230
Alexander 320 172
Beaufort 541 287
Rockhampton 232 77
Everly 351 186
London 550 315
Brotherhood -- 27
Baltimore 411 226
Fair Lady -- 10
In addition to these transports there was the Sphinx with Cornwallis and his suite, the transport Sarah, which sailed later from Liverpool with the hospital stores and staff, the small vessel Union, and other store ships. All in all, the first fleet probably carried three thousand people to Chebucto.
The Sphinx steered for Cape Race, that famous landmark on the way to the New World, and met head winds. The transports took a more southerly course and had better weather, so that despite their tubish hulls they arrived on the coast only a few days behind the captain-general.
The Sphinx sighted the coast of Nova Scotia on June 14: but as nobody on board had ever seen it before, and there was no chart worthy of the name, she stood offshore until she met by good fortune a Yankee sloop carrying two pilots to the British garrison at Louisburg. With these she
headed for the land, touched at Merliguish (the site of Lunenburg), and entered Chebucto on June 21, 1749 a date celebrated by Haligonians ever since.
The command of this venture into the wilds was given to Colonel Edward Cornwallis, a handsome military bachelor of thirty-six who had fought at Fontenoy, commanded a regiment in the Highlands against Prince Charlie, and now was anxious to distinguish himself in Nova Scotia.
He had turned over his regiment in the Highlands to a Major Wolf, who would distinguish himself in Nova Scotia later on. Horace Walpole speaks of Cornwallis as "a brave sensible young man of great temper and good nature"-a perfect picture of the man- and Wolfe afterwards mentioned Cornwallis' "approved courage and fidelity".
More than this, Cornwallis was incorruptible- a very rare quality in colonial governors of his time. He was slender, somewhat over middle height, an aristocrat to his fingertips, conscious of his dignity and inclined to be cool and ceremonious except when the "great temper" took charge. We are told he had a pleasant voice, fine eyes, and a winning expression. Later on his voice acquired a rasp, and so did his pen, as troubles mounted and the harsh winters of the new colony destroyed his health.
His aide and right-hand man was a young army bachelor like himself, Richard Bulkeley, tall, handsome, Irish, wealthy, a former king's messenger and captain of dragoons whose equipment for the wilderness included a valet,groom, a butler, three blood horses and a vast amount of baggage. Another aide was Captain Horatio Gates son of the Duke of Leeds on the wrong side of the blanket, a capable young officer who in later years was to make his name famous on the wrong side of the field in the American Revolution.
Raddell Warden of North
Monday, February 1, 2016
Hans Maurice Bruehl (von Bruhl) (deBruhl)
Bruehl, Hans
- Last updated on 8/5/07, 8:57 AM.
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Hans (John) Moritz von Bruehl was born on December 19, 1736 in Wiederau, Germany. He
was a general inspector of roads in Brandenburg and Pomerania. He was
the youngest son of count Heinrich von Bruehl (1700-1763). He was
Minister of Saxony in Germany and Ambassador to England, and lived in
London. He was one of the strongest players of the London chess club. He gave support to Philidor. He was a count. In 1782, at the Parsloe’s, Philidor drew with Bruehl and defeated Dr. Thomas Bowdler blindfolded, simultaneously. Philidor played several blindfold games against Bruehl throughout the years. In 1788, Bruehl defeated Cotter and lost to General H. S. Conway in two chess matches in London. In 1795, Philidor published a third edition of his chess book, L’analyse du jeu des Eschecs, and dedicated it to his friend and chess patron, Count Bruehl. The count was also interested in music (a patron of musicians) and astronomy (he built his own observatory). He was a colonel in the French service before the French Revolution of 1789. He died in London on June 9, 1809.
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