Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár

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Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár
Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár
Austria-Hungary Ambassador to United States
In office
1894 – 1913
Preceded by Ernst Schmitt von Tavera
Succeeded by Dr. Constantin Theodor Dumba
Born 1845
Pest, Hungary
Died 1917
Opatija, today Croatia

Ladislaus Freiherr [1] Hengelmüller von Hengervár (Hungarian: Báró hengervári Hengelmüller László) (1845–1917) was a longterm Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to the United States, stretching through multiple Presidential administrations including those of William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft.

While ambassador his formal address was, By the Grace of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, etc, and Apostolic King of Hungary, His Excellency the Baron Ladislaus Hengelmuller de Hengervar, Grand Cross of the Orders of Leopold and Francis Joseph, 3rd Class Knight of the Order of the Iron Crown, His Majesty's Privy Counselor and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America.

Contents

[edit] Family

Hengelmüller von Hengervár was born in Pest, the son of Michael (Mihály), an Austrian court official.

He was married to a daughter of Count Alfred Dunin-Borkowski, the Austrian Minister to Dresden; she was the widow of a prominent landowner in Austrian Poland. [2]. By her, he had a daughter, who married, as his second wife, Capt. Henry Brougham of the Coldstream Guards, heir to the English barony of Brougham and Vaux, on April 24, 1923.

[edit] The Hengelmuller-Washington Incident

In the November 13, 1905 edition of the Washington Post, a "Hengelmuller-Washington" incident was described. Evidently Professor Booker T. Washington and the Baron had been visiting President Roosevelt at about the same time. The Baron left first, accidentally taking Professor Washington's overcoat instead of his own. When the Baron reached into the pocket, he pulled out a rabbit's foot: "the left hind foot of a graveyard rabbit, killed in the dark of the moon".

The November 14, 1905 comment by the Detroit Journal about the incident was, "The Austrian ambassador may have made off with Booker T. Washington's coat at the White House, but he'd have a bad time trying to fill his shoes" [3].

[edit] Ambassadorship

The Baron took over as ambassador from Ernst Schmitt von Tavera after assignments in Serbia and Brazil. From 1894-1902, the Baron's title was "Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary" (Ausserordentlicher Gesandter und bevollmächtigter Minister), and then from 1902-1913 he was "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary" (Ausserordentlicher und bevollmächtigter Botschafter), [4] though in American press sometimes he was simply referred to as "Austrian Ambassador" and "Dean of the diplomatic corps at Washington" .

He was one of the signatories on the 1909 treaty to "resolve international disputes" between the United States and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which provided for a Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.

After the Baron resigned to return to Austria in 1913 -- his wife had been named a lady in waiting in 1910, which some observers stated was the reason for the Baron's resignation -- the ambassadorship went to Dr. Constantin Theodor Dumba, who held the post until he was expelled from the country by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915.

One of the Baron's nephews was Count Alfred von Niezychowski. Alfred was a Polish "szlachta" noble who entered the German merchant marine to be an officer aboard German passenger liners.

In 1914, Niezychowski was pulled into World War I when his ship the Kronprinz Wilhelm was drafted into the German Imperial Navy and turned into an auxiliary cruiser. The ship proceeded to raid commerce ships in the southern Atlantic until it ran out of supplies, and put into port in Virginia in 1915.

[edit] Death

Ladislaus Hengelmüller died at Abbazia, at this time one of leading health resorts of the empire in Istria.

[edit] Alternate name spellings

  • Baron Hengelmueler
  • Baron Laszlo Hengelmuller
  • Baron Dr. Ladislaus von Hengelmuller (as often referenced in the U.S. press)* Hengelmuller, Ladislas
  • Hengelmueller, Ladislaus
  • Hengelmuller, Ladislaus
  • Hengelmuller, Laszlo
  • Hengelmüller, László
  • Hengelmüller László (hengervári)
  • Hengelmüller von Hengervár, Ladislaus Baron
  • Hengelvar, Ladislaus Hengelmuller Baron von
  • Ladislaus Freiherr Hengelmüller von Hengervár
  • Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár
  • Laszlo Hengelmüller von Hengervar

[edit] Works

  • In Defense of Austria, by Baron L. Hengelmuller. 1914, 1915. The New York Times "Current History: A monthly magazine. The European War, Volume I, from the beginning to March, 1915". pp 559-562
  • Austria-Hungary and the war, 1915, New York, Austro-Hungarian consulate-general. Co-authors: Albert Apponyi, Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár, Konstantin Theodor Dumba, Alexander Nuber von Pereked
  • Hungary's fight for national existence or the history of the great uprising led by Francis Rakoczi II. 1703 - 1711. London: Macmillan, 1913. Summary at National Archives

Note: Francis Rakoczi II is sometimes listed as "Ferencz -- II, Rákóczy, -- Prince of Transylvania"

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The ambassador had a summer home in Maine, built by George Newman in 1886, and to this day the bed and breakfast in that location advertises it, as "the summer residence of the Austro-Hungarian ambassador and his wife, the Baron and Baroness Hengelmueler" [5].
  • The Baron was the subject of a quote by President Taft: "Let him wait", Taft told Captain Butt regarding the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador’s impatience over a delayed appointment. "A man with the name of Hengelmuller should not want me to leave my lunch" [6].
  • In 1910, (former) President Teddy Roosevelt visited Budapest, Hungary. Along with many other dignitaries, the Baron, along with his wife and daughter and President Roosevelt visited the Budapest Museum of Agriculture. The Baron and his wife also hosted President Roosevelt at a dinner at the "Park Club", known for a clientele of Hungarian nobility [7]. The trip to Europe by "Colonel Roosevelt" had caused some consternation among European royalty, since Roosevelt was greeted by Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany with royal honors, but the conservative court of Vienna resisted this, causing some embarrassment to the Baron [8].
  • The Baron is mentioned in the book Titanic: End of a Dream by Wyn Craig Wade, on page 157, as someone who was checking out one of the rumors about the cause of the disaster [9].
  • The Baron is listed in the index (Hengelvar, Ladislaus Hengelmuller Baron von, 239) of History of the Louisiana purchase exposition : comprising the history of the Louisiana territory, the story of the Louisiana purchase and a full account of the great exposition, embracing the participation of the states and nations of the world, and other events of the St. Louis World's fair of 1904 (compiled from official sources by Mark Bennitt, editor-in-chief and Frank Parker Stockbridge, managing editor, Universal exposition publishing company, 1905) [10].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a title, translated as Baron, not a first or middle name. The female forms are Freifrau and Freiin.
  2. ^ "The New Dean of the Diplomatic Corps at Washington", The New York Times: SM11, July 26, 1910
  3. ^ Booker T. Washington Papers. Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
  4. ^ Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy. Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
  5. ^ Castle Main Inn. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
  6. ^ William Howard Taft humour. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
  7. ^ TR in Hungary. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
  8. ^ Fort Covington Sun(PDF). January 8, 1903. In "Minor events of the week: Washington Items": "Baron Hengelmuller presented his new credentials as Ambassador from Austria-Hungary to the President". Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
  9. ^ Encyclopedia Titanica Message Board. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
  10. ^ St. Louis Public Library. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.


[edit] Other References

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Hengelmüller von Hengervár, Ladislaus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hengelmüller, László
SHORT DESCRIPTION Imperial Austria-Hungarian ambassador to the US
DATE OF BIRTH 1845
PLACE OF BIRTH Pest, Hungary
DATE OF DEATH 1917
PLACE OF DEATH Opatija