Philosophical Hall
Museum of the American Philosophical Society in Philosophical Hall
 
Online Exhibition
 
 
The Princess and the Patriot: Ekaterina Dashkova, Benjamin Franklin, and the Age of Enlightenment

Dashkova in St. Petersburg

Born into an aristocratic Russian family in St. Petersburg, Ekaterina Dashkova was educated like most noble girls, with lessons in dancing, drawing, and foreign languages. On her own she also read history and philosophy, developing a life-long love of books. At the age of 15, Dashkova met the future Catherine the Great, then a 30-year-old German princess married to Peter, heir to the Russian throne.
Uniform of the Preobrazhenskii Regiment of the Imperial Guards, 1762. Maker unknown; wool and gold braid. Federal State Institution of Culture, The State Historical Museum, Moscow.

As emperor, Peter III proved to be a weak and unpopular ruler.  In 1762, Catherine and her allies, including Dashkova, engineered a dramatic coup that deposed him. The 19-year-old Dashkova even dressed as a soldier to ride with the new Empress and her troops.

The coup was a turning point in Dashkova’s life, giving her access to the most powerful woman in Russia. She was made a lady-in-waiting, granted the Star and Cross of the Order of St. Catherine (Russia’s highest honor for women), and later appointed to lead two prestigious scholarly institutions.

 

As there were no other two women at the time … who did any serious reading, we were mutually drawn toward each other.
- E. R. Dashkova

Next

104 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106