Ludwig Heinrich von Nicolai

Ludwig Heinrich von Nicolai (better: Nicolay) (1737–1820) (after adopting Orthodoxy Russian: Андрей Львович) was a poet of the Enlightenment, librarian, secretary, academician and the President of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Nicolai was born in Strasbourg to a German aristocratic family. He graduated from the University of Strasbourg with a degree in law and afterwards quickly moved to Paris. There he acquainted with Voltaire, Diderot, d'Alembert and other Enlightenment famous men. In 1769 Nicolai was invited to the Russian Empire to be a teacher for future Emperor Paul I of Russia. When Paul became emperor, he promoted Nicolai to a member of cabinet and President of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (15 April 1798 – 2 June 1803). His estate Monrepos was in the city of Vyborg, formerly a Finnish city, since 1945 a part of Russia. His private library, collections (cameos, letters and other documents) and pictures are now in the possession of the Finnish National Library in Helsinki. His library is a very rare example of the Russian libraries of the age of Enlightenment including for example many rare examples of Russian books in French.

In 1782 on the same day as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Nicolai was granted the title of baron by Joseph II.

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