Borodino. Alexander I and the year 1912. Engravings. Art Album.

Alexander I, Aleksandr Pavlovich, (born December 23 [December 12, Old Style], 1777, St. Petersburg, Russia—died December 1 [November 19], 1825, Taganrog), was emperor of Russia from 1801 till 1825. Aleksandr Pavlovich was the first child of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (later Paul I) and Grand Duchess Maria Fyodorovna, a princess of Württemberg-Montbéliard. His grandmother, the reigning Empress Catherine II (the Great), took him from his parents and raised him to prepare to succeed her. Catherine invited Denis Diderot, the French encyclopaedist, to become Alexander’s private tutor. When he declined, she chose Frédéric-César La Harpe, a Swiss republican, and an excellent educator. He inspired deep affection in Alexander and shaped his flexible and open mind.