Historical Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 40

[cahn]

I'm trying to use my other account at least occasionally so I posted about my Yuletide gifts there, including the salon-relevant 12k fic that features Fritz, Heinrich, Voltaire, Fredersdorf, Saint Germain, Caroline Daum (Fredersdorf's wife), and Groundhog Day tropes! (Don't need to know canon.)

Comments

Re: Euler and Fritz

[mildred_of_midgard]

This is pretty much exactly what I've read, yes. (Also that Euler was pious and didn't fit in well at Fritz's freethinking, religion-trashing court.)

Also, when Fritz became king in 1740, one of his first requests (his first request?) to Suhm was, "Please try to get me Euler from St. Petersburg!" and Suhm DID. :D

(Do I need to explain who Suhm is, or are we good?)

Catherine the Great, who offered him a position where he was more free to do the math he wanted.

And paid better. This is why I have a fanfic whose title alludes to Catherine as the poacher of employees. ;) Fritz was tight-fisted and Catherine was generous and she poached good people from him.

Re: Euler and Fritz

[luzula]

Ah, cool that you have more details! Re: Suhm, I am fully capable of looking things up on rheinsberg. : ) *looks him up*

Re: Euler and Fritz

[selenak]

Re: Euler, as far as I can recall from Maupertuis' biography, Euler - who was basically Maupertuis' right hand man at the Academy and had been running it ever since Maupertuis got sick - would have been the natural next President after Maupertuis' death, but Fritz wanted another Frenchman, and Euler rightfully felt offended and quit. Now that's just how the Maupertuis biographer put it, and maybe she was wrong, but it feels ic.

Re: Euler and Fritz

[luzula]

That sounds ridiculous and also unfair--no wonder Euler quit!

Re: Euler and Fritz

[mildred_of_midgard]

Oh, right, I forgot about that! (The problem with the Maupertuis bio is I really wanted to know what was in it, but it was so dry it was hard to even find the human interest parts memorable.)

Re: Euler and Fritz

[selenak]

That is unfortunately very true. The author is the driest. Somewhere, I suspect Voltaire is smirking that OF COURSE Maupertuis' life is told in a much more boring fashion than his, but then I remind him of that awful boring novella. :)

Re: Euler and Fritz

[cahn]

Voltaire: Yes, but that was because the novella was not accurately portraying me! MY bio was much more interesting! *smirks some more*

Re: Euler and Fritz

[mildred_of_midgard]

True facts! Orieux is still on my list for future French practice.

Re: Euler and Fritz

[cahn]

and also was way smarter than either Maupertuis or any of the other French guys Fritz wanted

/is Euler partisan

Re: Euler and Fritz

[felis]

And yet, even he failed to get Fritz' fountains at Sanssouci running, which might be one reason why Fritz wasn't too impressed. :P ;)