Moltke family

The Moltke family is an old German noble family. The family was originally from Mecklenburg, but apart from Germany, some of the family branches also resided throughout Scandinavia. Members of the family have been noted as statesmen, high-ranking military officers and major landowners in Denmark and Prussia.



History
The family is descended from Fridericus Meltiko, a knight from Mecklenburg who lived in the mid 13th century. The family was awarded with the title of Count on 13.12.1834 in Denmark. They were also created Counts in Prussia on 17.2.1868 by King William I of Prussia.

Notable members

 * Adam Gottlob Moltke (1710–1792), Danish courtier, statesman and diplomat
 * Caspar Herman Gottlob Moltke (1738–1800), Danish general
 * Joachim Godske Moltke (1746–1818), Prime Minister of Denmark, son of Adam Gottlob Moltke
 * Friedrich Philipp Victor von Moltke (1768–1845), German Generalleutnant in Danish service
 * Adam Wilhelm Moltke (1785–1864), Danish Prime Minister, son of Joachim Godske Moltke
 * Helmuth von Moltke the Elder (1800–1891), Chief of the Prussian, and then German, General Staff
 * Adam Friedrich Adamson von Moltke (1816–1885), Danish administrative lawyer and district president
 * Kuno von Moltke (1847–1923), German general
 * Helmuth von Moltke the Younger (1848–1916), Chief of the German General Staff
 * Otto von Moltke (1851–1881), German-Danish military officer
 * Heinrich Karl Leonhard von Moltke (1854–1922), German-Danish vice admiral in the Imperial German Navy
 * Harald Moltke (1871–1960), Danish painter and Arctic explorer
 * Hans-Adolf von Moltke (1884–1943), German diplomat
 * Else Moltke (1888–1986), Danish writer and feminist
 * Erik Moltke (1901–1984), Danish art historian
 * Helmuth James Graf von Moltke (1907–1945), German jurist, pacifist, head of the anti-Nazi Kreisau Circle, executed for treason for hosting a group planning to create a democracy after the fall of the Third Reich
 * Gebhardt von Moltke (1938-2019), German diplomat
 * James von Moltke (1970– ), German banker, current Chief Financial Officer of Deutsche Bank.
 * Carl Moltke (1869-1935), German-born Danish politician and ambassador.
 * Count Carl Adam Moltke (1908–1989), Member of the Danish Mission to the United Nations
 * Alexandra Isles (1945-) (née Moltke), Soap opera actress, model, and former mistress of Claus von Bülow.

Places

 * Cape Harald Moltke, North Greenland
 * Cape Moltke, SE Greenland

Literature

 * Ernst Heinrich Kneschke: Neues allgemeines deutsches Adels-Lexicon. Friedrich Voigt, Leipzig 1859
 * Olaf Jessen: Die Moltkes. Biographie einer Familie. C. H. Beck, München 2010, ISBN 978-3-406-604997 (Rezension)
 * Ernst Münch: "Die Moltkes im Ringen um ihr Stammgut Toitenwinkel bei Rostock". In: Herrschaft. Machtentfaltung über adligen und fürstlichen Grundbesitz in der Frühen Neuzeit. Böhlau Verlag, Köln Weimar 2003, S. 3–26
 * Jochen Thies: Die Moltkes: Von Königgrätz nach Kreisau. Eine deutsche Familiengeschichte. Piper Verlag, München 2010, ISBN 978-3-492-05380-8
 * Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Adelslexikon Band IX, Band 116 der Gesamtreihe, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 1998,