Nesselrode, KARL ROBERT, COUNT,

Nesselrode, KARL ROBERT, COUNT, Russian diplomatist, was born on the 14th December 1780, at Lisbon, where his father, a descendant of an ancient noble family on the lower Rhine, was then Russian ambassador. He gained in a high degree the esteem and confidence of the Emperor Alexander, and in 1814 he accompanied the Russian emperor to France, where he took a principal part in all the negotiations which ended in the peace of Paris; and he was one of the most prominent of the plenipotentiaries in the Congress of Vienna, and one of the most active diplomatists of the Holy Alliance. The Emperor Nicholas reposed in him the same confidence, and amidst the European convulsions of 1848 and 1849 Russia, under his guidance, refrained from interference, till an opportunity occurred of dealing a deadly blow to the revolutionary cause in Hungary. Being one of the chiefs of the moderate party in Russia, Nesselrode exerted himself to preserve peace with the Western Powers; and after the war had broken out in 1854 he undoubtedly strove for the re-establishment of peace. After the accession of Alexander II. he retired from the direction of foreign affairs, and was succeeded by Prince Alexander Gortschakoff, but retained the dignity of chancellor of the empire. He died 23d March 1862, and his autobiography appeared at Berlin in 1866.