Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov is one of those historical figures whose contribution to Russian science is hard to overestimate. The famous scientist never sought to make his family life public, so there is very little evidence of his attitude towards his wife. Even less information can be found about the youngest of the scientist's daughters, although, by the will of fate, Elena Mikhailovna Lomonosova became the only successor of her kind.
Marriage of parents
If in 1711 the Pomeranian fisherman Vasily Dorofeevich Lomonosov had been told that his newborn son Mikhailo would someday marry the daughter of a Marburg brewer and part-time city head Heinrich Zilch, he most likely would not have believed it. However, the fateful meeting of young people nevertheless took place when three students from Russia arrived in Germany to study.
Cilha's widow, Katharina Elisabeth, was short of money and, in order to feed her son and daughter, decided to rent out part of the house. She sheltered M. V. Lomonosov, D. I. Vinogradov and G. U. Raiser, and young people soon became close to her children. Over time, the woman noticed that the Russian student Mikhail and her daughter Elizabeth were in love with each other, and demanded either to end the relationship or to marry. At the same time, Lomonosov found himself in a rather difficult situation, since he did not have the means to support his family. In addition, the affiliation of lovers to different faiths was an obstacle. However, there was nowhere to retreat, since in November 1739 the couple had a daughter, Catherine Elizabeth, who was recorded in the documents as illegitimate. Be that as it may, in the summer of 1740, Mikhail Lomonosov married E. K. Tsilkh in the church of the reformed community of Marburg, and a year later he left for Russia, leaving his wife, pregnant with her second child, to care for her sick mother.
Brothers and sisters
Besides Ekaterina Elizabeth, M. Lomonosov had a son, Ivan (Johan), in 1741 in Germany. Elena Mikhailovna never saw her brother and sister, since both of them died before she was born. Ivan Lomonosov lived only a few months and was buried in Marburg, while Ekaterina Elizaveta died of illness in 1743 immediately after her arrival with her mother and uncle Johann Zilch in St. Petersburg.
Childhood
Elena Lomonosova, whose parents at that time were already able to formalize their relationship in Russia, appearedwas born on February 21, 1749 in St. Petersburg, in the Bonov house on Vasilyevsky Island, in an apartment provided to her father by the Academy of Sciences. When the girl was 8 years old, her family finally got their own housing on the Moika. In this house, built according to a standard project especially for Lomonosov, she spent most of her short life.
Apparently, the always busy father did not devote enough time to the education of his only daughter. When Elena Mikhailovna Lomonosova grew up a little, her mother, who taught her the German language, was her teacher for a long time. At the same time, the girl grew up surrounded by her father's students, who often visited their house, and communication with the most educated people of that time could not but have a beneficial effect on her.
Father's death
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov died in 1765 from pneumonia. His wife, Elizaveta Andreevna, survived her husband by only a little over a year. After the death of her husband, the woman was extremely concerned about the fate of her only daughter. After all, Elena Mikhailovna Lomonosova did not receive a rich inheritance from her father, and she did not have influential relatives. Elizaveta Andreevna herself was often sick and understood that her days were numbered. All her thoughts were about finding a worthy spouse for her daughter, but there were no people who wanted to tie the knot with a dowry.
Wedding
Unexpectedly for everyone in the summer of 1766, Elena Mikhailovna Lomonosova (1749) learned from her mother that Aleksey Alekseevich Konstantinov had married her. The man was20 years older than the girl, but Elizaveta Andreevna considered him a good match, since at that time he held the position of personal librarian of Catherine II and enjoyed the special favor of the empress.
Moreover, the state of he alth of E. A. Lomonosova worsened every day, so on September 15, 1766, the couple got married. Thus, a month after the modest wedding, Elizaveta Andreevna calmly departed into another world, being sure that she arranged the fate of her daughter in the best possible way.
Marriage
It is unlikely that the seventeen-year-old Elena Mikhailovna Lomonosova-Konstantinova experienced an ardent passion for her husband. However, her short marriage was not unhappy, especially since in her parents' family she was not accustomed to luxury and rarely visited the palace. For the same reason, Elena Mikhailovna Lomonosova was not burdened by constantly staying at home due to successive pregnancies and caring for children.
Children
For 6 years of marriage, Elena Mikhailovna Lomonosova, whose biography is as short as her life, gave birth to 4 children. Her only son Alexei was born a year after the wedding and died at the age of 7. In addition, Elena became the mother of three daughters. Of these, the most interesting fate went to Sophia. As for the other two, nothing is known about Catherine (1771-1846) and Anna (1772-1864) Konstantinov. The only thing that can be said with certainty about them is that the women did not have offspring.
ChildrenSofia Alekseevna
All the grandchildren of Elena Mikhailovna were the children of the famous hero of the Patriotic War, General Raevsky, whom S. A. Konstantinov married in 1794. In total, she gave birth to two sons and 5 daughters:
- Alexander (1795-1868), who rose to the rank of colonel.
- Ekaterina (1797-1885, wife of the Decembrist M. F. Orlov, maid of honor).
- Nikolai (1801-1843, founder of Novorossiysk and a number of fortresses in the North Caucasus).
- Sophia (c. 1802), who died a few months old.
- Elena (1803-1852, maid of honor at the court of Nicholas II).
- Maria (1805-1863, wife of S. G. Volkonsky).
- Sophia (1806-1883, maid of honor).
Both grandsons of Elena Lomonosova became military men and distinguished themselves during World War II. No less interesting fate awaited the great-granddaughter of the great scientist - Maria. She not only became one of the muses of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, but also showed the world an example of boundless marital fidelity and devotion, following her husband, Sergei Volkonsky, to hard labor. By the way, her sister Ekaterina Nikolaevna was also married to one of the participants in the Decembrist Uprising and spent the best years of her life in exile.
Now you know what kind of life Elena Mikhailovna Lomonosova lived. The family of the great scientist led a modest life, so little is known about her. However, it cannot be denied that it was precisely the reliable rear that Ekaterina Andreevna and Elena Mikhailovna provided him that allowed M. V. Lomonosov to become the greatest luminary of the Russianscience.
