Russian Military Commander, Politician. Put into slavery while still a young boy, Gannibal (Hannibal in English) was an African native presented as a gift to Czar Peter I in November 1704. He was baptized in 1705 with the name Abraham Petrov and soon assumed the duties as the Czar's valet and secretary. In 1716, he enrolled at the Ecole d'Artillerie in France where he received his military training and fought with the army of King Louis XV. Upon his return to St. Petersburg in 1723, his experience in military fortification and explosives proved useful in gaining key promotions until the death of Peter I in 1725. He spent the following year as tutor to the future Czar Peter II and in 1727 adopted the surname Hannibal after fellow African and Carthaginian military commander Hannibal of Roman empire fame. His favor with the royal court continued to wane until 1730 during which time he received a remote military assignment to Siberia where he built a fort at Selenginsk, on the Chinese border. As Empress Elizabeth acceded the throne in 1741 his favor with the royal court was restored. He served as governor-general of Revel in Estonia from 1742 to 1751 and achieved the rank of general-in-chief and led all military engineering in Russia from 1752 until his retirement in 1761. He was the father of Major General Ivan Abramovich Gannibal and great-grandfather of poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.
Hannibal was buried in 1781 in the old Suyda cemetery. Unfortunately, the burial site was not preserved, but a granite slab with the inscription "Hannibal" was installed on the alleged site in 1871. However, in 1922, after the change of government, all gravestones from cemeteries were used as foundations for the construction of barracks, and in 1970 the old cemetery with the grave of Abram Petrovich was plowed and used as a field on which to plant potatoes.
At the moment, the tombstone says, "Here buried A.S.Pushkin's great-grandfather Abram Petrovich Hannibal, the outstanding Russian mathematician, fortifier and hydrotechnician. 1697-1781" was installed in the village of Voskresenskoye Gatchina district of the Leningrad region.
Hannibal was buried in 1781 in the old Suyda cemetery. Unfortunately, the burial site was not preserved, but a granite slab with the inscription "Hannibal" was installed on the alleged site in 1871. However, in 1922, after the change of government, all gravestones from cemeteries were used as foundations for the construction of barracks, and in 1970 the old cemetery with the grave of Abram Petrovich was plowed and used as a field on which to plant potatoes.
At the moment, the tombstone says, "Here buried A.S.Pushkin's great-grandfather Abram Petrovich Hannibal, the outstanding Russian mathematician, fortifier and hydrotechnician. 1697-1781" was installed in the village of Voskresenskoye Gatchina district of the Leningrad region.
Russian Military Commander, Politician. Put into slavery while still a young boy, Gannibal (Hannibal in English) was an African native presented as a gift to Czar Peter I in November 1704. He was baptized in 1705 with the name Abraham Petrov and soon assumed the duties as the Czar's valet and secretary. In 1716, he enrolled at the Ecole d'Artillerie in France where he received his military training and fought with the army of King Louis XV. Upon his return to St. Petersburg in 1723, his experience in military fortification and explosives proved useful in gaining key promotions until the death of Peter I in 1725. He spent the following year as tutor to the future Czar Peter II and in 1727 adopted the surname Hannibal after fellow African and Carthaginian military commander Hannibal of Roman empire fame. His favor with the royal court continued to wane until 1730 during which time he received a remote military assignment to Siberia where he built a fort at Selenginsk, on the Chinese border. As Empress Elizabeth acceded the throne in 1741 his favor with the royal court was restored. He served as governor-general of Revel in Estonia from 1742 to 1751 and achieved the rank of general-in-chief and led all military engineering in Russia from 1752 until his retirement in 1761. He was the father of Major General Ivan Abramovich Gannibal and great-grandfather of poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.
Hannibal was buried in 1781 in the old Suyda cemetery. Unfortunately, the burial site was not preserved, but a granite slab with the inscription "Hannibal" was installed on the alleged site in 1871. However, in 1922, after the change of government, all gravestones from cemeteries were used as foundations for the construction of barracks, and in 1970 the old cemetery with the grave of Abram Petrovich was plowed and used as a field on which to plant potatoes.
At the moment, the tombstone says, "Here buried A.S.Pushkin's great-grandfather Abram Petrovich Hannibal, the outstanding Russian mathematician, fortifier and hydrotechnician. 1697-1781" was installed in the village of Voskresenskoye Gatchina district of the Leningrad region.
Hannibal was buried in 1781 in the old Suyda cemetery. Unfortunately, the burial site was not preserved, but a granite slab with the inscription "Hannibal" was installed on the alleged site in 1871. However, in 1922, after the change of government, all gravestones from cemeteries were used as foundations for the construction of barracks, and in 1970 the old cemetery with the grave of Abram Petrovich was plowed and used as a field on which to plant potatoes.
At the moment, the tombstone says, "Here buried A.S.Pushkin's great-grandfather Abram Petrovich Hannibal, the outstanding Russian mathematician, fortifier and hydrotechnician. 1697-1781" was installed in the village of Voskresenskoye Gatchina district of the Leningrad region.
Bio by: Samuel Taylor Geer
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