Georges d'Anthès

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Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès, baron (1812–1895).

Despite his later career as a senator under the Second French Empire, d'Anthès's name is most famous because of the duel he fought with Russia's greatest poet, Aleksandr Pushkin.

D'Anthès is possibly the most cursed character in Russian literature. Born to a French royalist émigré family, he was introduced into St. Petersburg society by the Dutch ambassador to the court, Baron Heeckeren. Writers have speculated on the relationship between Heeckeren and d'Anthès, presuming that they were lovers. In any event, Heeckeren took the unusual step of legally adopting d'Anthès as his heir.

His attentions fixed however on Pushkin's wife, Natalya ("Natasha"), and aroused the furious jealousy of her poet husband. It is questionable whether d'Anthès's engagement and marriage to Natalya's sister, Ekaterina Goncharova, was devised to contradict society gossip that he was in pursuit of Natalya.

A duel became inevitable after Pushkin received an anonymous letter which nominated him to the Society of Cuckolds. This was held back whilst other parties intervened and d'Anthès married Ekaterina, but on 10 February 1837, d'Anthès shot first, mortally wounding Pushkin in the stomach. Pushkin, who had fought several duels, managed to rise and shoot at d'Anthès, however, only lightly wounding him in the right arm. D'Anthès departed from Russia shortly after Pushkin's death.

It is often claimed that Edmond Dantès, the title character from Alexandre Dumas, père's The Count of Monte Cristo, was named after him.