For a long time in St. Petersburg it was believed that Mikhail Lomonosov was a bachelor. Imagine the surprise of the public when it turned out that the scientist was married and had two children. Lomonosov's wife was one Elisabeth Zilch from Germany.
Read in the material how this strange marriage between a young German and a great scientist was concluded, why Lomonosov hid from his wife in St. Petersburg, and who helped Elizabeth find her husband.
How Lomonosov in Marburg settled with the wife of the church warden, and then married her daughter
Lomonosov lived in Marburg for five years.
Mikhail Lomonosov studied not only in Russia, but also abroad. If we turn to Artemov's work "The Great Names of Russia", you can find information that in 1736 Mikhailo was sent to Germany on the initiative of the St. Petersburg Academy. There he had to study mining and metallurgy.
For five years, the scientist settled in Marburg. After searching for housing, Lomonosov chose the house of Heinrich Zilch, who was not only a famous brewer, but also a member of the city duma and church warden. True, at that time this man was no longer alive, and the Russian student was taken to the post by a widow. In the house also lived Henry's daughter, whose name was Elizabeth-Christina. Sympathy arose between the young men, which soon developed into a passionate romance, and in 1740, in June, they were married in the Reformed Church of Marburg. This is confirmed by the entry in the church book.
There is another very interesting fact, which the author Of Molosov writes about in the publication "The Russian Empire in the 18th Century" - at the time of the wedding, Elizabeth and Michael already had a little daughter, who was not even six months old. Lomonosov had to support his family on a meager salary laid down by the St. Petersburg Academy. Money was sorely lacking. Perhaps the fact was that Mikhail Vasilyevich did not know how to measure income and spending. It is difficult to judge about this now, but at that moment Lomonosov got into debt and reached a state of poverty. The situation was critical, even there was a chance to go to prison. Michael could not get out of this intricate labyrinth, and he simply returned to his homeland. This happened in 1741. His wife Elizabeth was already pregnant with her second child.
How a scientist ran away to St. Petersburg and hid there from his wife
Lomonosov returned to St. Petersburg, leaving his wife and young daughter in Germany.
So, Lomonosov fled to St. Petersburg. In Germany, Elisabeth-Christina remained, who in 1742 gave birth to a son. Unfortunately, the boy died before he even reached a year. For two years, the woman did not know anything about her husband and did not receive letters from him.
The most interesting thing is that in St. Petersburg no one knew about the marriage of Lomonosov. In the book about the great learner, which was written by Lvovich-Kostrytsa, it is said that Michael kept his marital status secret and did not tell anyone about his wife. A contemporary of the scientist Jacob Staelelin claimed that during this period Lomonosov did not send his wife a single news. Although the address in Germany was well known to him. His wife did not know where Lomonosov was. He did not tell the woman his address. That is why the desperate Elizabeth-Christina decided to start searching for her Russian spouse. To this end, she turned to the Russian consul for help.
Elizabeth-Christina, her search for her missing Russian husband and who helped the couple to connect
The consul handed over the letter of Elizabeth-Christina to Bestuzhev-Ryumin (in the portrait), in which, in turn, Jacob Shtelin.
So, the letter of Elizabeth-Christina was handed over by the consul to Count Bestuzhev-Ryumin, and he, in turn, gave it to Jacob Shtelin. When Mrs. Zilkh's message reached Lomonosov, he, according to eyewitnesses, reacted very emotionally. Michael claimed that he was not going to leave his wife, and in the future he would be next to her. And that a woman can immediately take the child and come. Lomonosov promised to send his wife a hundred rubles and write a message, which was done.
Elizabeth-Christina came with her little daughter to St. Petersburg in 1743. There are references to the fact that after this event Lomonosov ceased to be nervous, became calm, and his scientific activity began to develop even more fruitfully. After a while, another child was born. It was a girl who was named Elena.
Happy marriage: so why did Lomonosov hide his wife from everyone
Lomonosov and Elizabeth-Christina lived a life of love and harmony.
Interestingly, despite the difficulties at the beginning of family life, Lomonosov and his wife lived happily ever after until the last days. It is strange why Michael tried to hide his marriage? There is an opinion that in this way the scientist wanted to relieve himself of responsibility. But a different point of view is held by the authors of "Another History of Russia". It consists in the fact that before the wedding, Lomonosov had to obtain official permission from the Russian Academy of Sciences. Unfortunately, he did not have such a paper. In addition, perhaps the scientist was ashamed of his inability to support his family. Most likely, this is how you can decipher the words of Mikhail Vasilyevich that he did not write and did not call his wife to himself only because insurmountable circumstances prevented this.
In fact, Lomonosov really experienced financial difficulties, even after studying in Germany. There is evidence that since 1742 his salary was three hundred and sixty rubles annually. It seems that at that time this is a decent amount, because, for example, the price of a pound of beef was about 2 kopecks. But the thing is that the Academy simply did not have such funds. Therefore, Lomonosov received money in parts in Germany and then in St. Petersburg. According to the writer Lvovich-Kostrytsya, for example, for the whole of 1742, the scientist received only a third of the salary from the Academy. And St. Petersburg, as you know, has always been an expensive city compared to others. If you read the works of Minaeva, in which she refers to Stelin (the book "Mikhail Lomonosov"), you can find the statement that the Russian scientist did not announce the marriage and did not dare to support the family in St. Petersburg, a place dear.
