Ancestry Michał Jan Borch came from the
Courlandish branch of the noble family . His parents were the Polish
chancellor (1715-1780) and Ludwika Anna (1725–1788). He was born in
Varakļāni in present-day Latvia.
Career Michał Jan Borch was educated and raised at the family estate by French teachers, as well as partly in Poland, to some extent at the
Collegium Pium in
Warsaw. He entered Polish military service in 1762 and obtained the rank of
colonel in the
hussars no later than 1776. According to some sources, he was wounded by during the kidnapping of
Stanisław August Poniatowski in 1771 while trying to protect the king. Thanks to his loyalty and to his skill, he was promoted to
Quartermaster general of
Lithuania in 1781, became a member of the Ministry of War in 1786 and eventually promoted to
Lieutenant General. In addition, he was made
starost of
Ludza (
Latgale) in 1772 and from 1787
voivode of the
Belz Voivodeship (today in Ukraine), where he promoted the spreading of the
Polish language. built by Michał Jan Borch Between 1774 and 1778 he conducted an extensive
Grand Tour through Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy. His tour included a visit to the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta on Malta. He was inspired to visit
Sicily and Malta by reading the then-popular book
A Tour through Sicily and Malta by
Patrick Brydone. On Sicily he dedicated himself to extensive studies of
mineralogy between September 1776 and April 1777. He published the results of his studies in seven Italian scientific publications and later, in extended form, as books translated into French. In his
Italian Journey,
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe speaks favourably of von der Borch. His extensive natural history collections where still piously preserved in the castle of Varakļāni as late as 1868. In recognition of his work as a naturalist, the
Brachiopod Bicarinatina borchi is named after von der Borch. In 1783, he was elevated to the rank of
Imperial Count by the
Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. In 1790 he traveled to England on a mission for the Polish king, whose complete trust von der Borch enjoyed. Following the
Third Partition of Poland he retired from all official duties and settled on his estate in Varakļāni. Already in 1789 he had hired the Italian architect
Vincenzo de Mazotti to rebuild
Varakļāni Palace and redesign the garden of the estate, which had been in the family since 1483. Among other decorations, Michał Jan Borch was awarded the
Order of the Lion of Bavaria, the
Order of Saint Stanislaus and the
Order of the White Eagle. As a writer he concentrated on natural sciences, maintained international scientific contacts and was a member of several academies.
Family In 1783 he married Countess Eleonore Christina von Browne of Camus (1766–1844) in
Riga, the daughter of the Russian
governor general of
Livonia George Browne. The couple had seven children: • Karol Jerzy Jan (1787-1861) • Zofia (1795-1880) • Eliza Luiza Izabella (1796-1870) • Izabela Amerlia Marianna (1799-1862) • Anna Klara Julia (1801-1869) • Aleksander Antoni Stanisław (1804-1867) • Józef Kazimierz Piotr (1807-1881) ==Works==