Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/716

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702 ORLOFF ORMOND ORLOFF, the name of a Russian family which rose into consequence early in the 18th cen- tury. I* Ivan, the founder of the family, was one of the corps of strelitzes who in 1689 were induced by the princess Sophia to mutiny against her brother the young czar Peter (the Great). Being sentenced to death, he showed such coolness upon the scaffold that he was pardoned, and obtained a commission in the army. He adopted the name of Orloff. II. Grigori Grigorievitch, grandson of the preceding, born in 1734, died in Moscow in 1783. He be- came an aide-de-camp of Gen. Shuvaloff, with whose mistress, the princess Kurakin, he had an intrigue which brought him under the notice of Catharine II., then grand duchess, who took him under her protection. He was instrumen- tal in the deposition of her husband, Peter III., and in establishing her upon the throne (1762); a service which gained him the first honors of the empire, including the title of count, conferred also upon his four brothers, who had assisted him. He vainly aspired to the hand of the empress. His fickleness and indis- cretion alienated her affections, and to rid her- self of a discarded lover she charged him in 1771 with measures for arresting the plague in Moscow. His courage and devotion in the performance of this duty reinstated him tem- porarily in the good graces of Catharine ; but during his absence in Wallachia to negotiate a peace with the Turks, he was supplanted by another favorite, and on his return to St. Petersburg the empress exiled him to the cas- tle of Tzarskoye Selo. After wandering over Europe he became insane, and died in that con- dition. He left a son by the empress, called Count Bobrinski. III. Alexei, brother of the preceding, born in 1737, died in Moscow in 1808. He entered the army, and attracted the favorable notice of Catharine II. by the daring part he played in the deposition of Peter III. He is said to have strangled Peter in prison with his own hands. In 1768 he was appoint- ed admiral of the fleet in the Grecian archipel- ago, and by the assistance of a British officer named Elphinston he gained brilliant successes over the enemy off Scio and Tchesme (July 5-7, 1770), for which he received many marks of honor, including the surname of Tchesmen- skoi. He was exiled from court by Paul, and passed the remainder of his life in travelling or on his estates. IV. Fedor, brother of the preceding, born in 1741, died in Moscow in 1796. He served in the army against the Turks, and became general-in-chief. He left four illegitimate sons, by whom the male line of the Orloffs has been continued. V. Alexei, son of the preceding, born in 1787, died in St. Petersburg, May 21, 1861. He entered the army at an early age, and, after participating in the campaigns ending with the peace of Paris in 1814, became aide-de-camp to Alex- ander I., and colonel of a regiment of horse guards. During the formidable insurrection in St. Petersburg which followed the accession of Nicholas (1825), the energy of his move- ments and the loyalty of his troops contributed much to crush the rebels. He was made a count, appointed adjutant general, and in 1828 fought against the Turks. In 1829 he nego- tiated the peace of Adrianople, and during the Polish insurrection of 1830-'31 he was com- missioned to supervise the operations of the Russian generals in Poland. The sudden deaths of Marshal Diebitsch and the grand duke Con- stantine gave rise to an accusation (probably unjust) of poisoning against Orloff. His next important service was the negotiation of the secret treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi, July 8, 1833, for the closing of the Bosporus and Dardanelles against all but Russian ships of war. In 1844 he took charge of the secret police of Russia, and became one of the most formidable per- sonages in the empire. After the death of Nicholas he exercised an equal influence in the councils of Alexander II. In 1856 he repre- sented Russia at the congress of Paris as first plenipotentiary, after which he was appointed president of the grand council of the empire, and was made a prince. VI. Nikolai, prince, a Russian diplomatist, son of the preceding, born in 1827. He distinguished himself as a soldier in the Crimea, losing an eye. In 1859 he be- came minister at Brussels, and afterward lieu- tenant general and aide-cle-camp of the em- peror. In 1872 he was appointed ambassador in Paris ; and in January, 1875, President Mac- Mahon gave him the grand cross of the legion of honor. He has written a work on the cam- paign in Prussia in 1806 (St. Petersburg, 1856). ORME, Robert, an English author, born in Travancore, India, in 1728, died at Ealing, England, Jan. 13, 1801. He was educated at Harrow, and in 1742 went to Calcutta and engaged in business. In l757-'8 he was com- missary and accountant general in the East India company's civil service. In 1760 he settled in London, and was appointed his- toriographer of the East India company. He wrote " History of the Military Transactions of the British Nation in Indostan from the Year 1745 " (2 vols., 1763-'78), extending to the peace of 1763; "Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire from the Year 1659" (8vo, 1782); and "A General Idea of the Govern- ment and People of Indostan" and "Origin of the English Establishments at Broach and Surat," published posthumously, together with the "Historical Fragments" and a life of the author (4to, 1805). ORMOND, James Butler, duke of, lord lieu- tenant of Ireland, born in London in 1610, died at Kingston hall in Dorsetshire, July 21, 1688. He was educated by Archbishop Abbot as a ward of King James, and in 1632 suc- ceeded his grandfather as earl of Ormond. When the Irish rebellion broke out in 1640 he was chosen commander of the royal troops, and repeatedly repulsed the rebels. Being ill supported, he was forced to make terms of peace which created much dissatisfaction in