Serge Obolensky
Encyclopedia
Sergei Platonovich 5th Knyaz Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletzky (Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...

, 20 September/3 October 1890 - Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Grosse Pointe is a suburban city bordering Detroit in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city covers just over one square mile, and had a population of 5,421 at the 2010 census. It is bordered on the west by Grosse Pointe Park, on the north by Detroit, on the east by Grosse Pointe...

, Wayne County
Wayne County, Michigan
-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...

, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, 29 September 1978) was a Russian Prince and Vice Chairman of the Board
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 of Hilton Hotels Corporation
Hilton Hotels Corporation
Hilton Worldwide is a global hospitality company. It is owned by the Blackstone Group, a private equity firm. As of July 2011 Hilton brands encompass 3,750 hotels with over 600,000 rooms in 84 countries...

.

Biography

He was the son of General Platon Sergeievich 4th Knyaz Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletzky (Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, 12 June 1850 - Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, 27 June 1913) and wife (m. Saint Petersburg, 31 January 1888, div. 1897) Maria Konstantinovna Naryshkina
Naryshkin family
The Naryshkin family was a Moscow boyar family. It became allied to the ruling house in 1671 when the great beauty Natalia Naryshkina married Alexis of Russia, later becoming the mother of Peter the Great...

 (Moscow, 22 December 1861 - Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, 2 February 1929). He had a younger brother, Wladimir Platonovich Knyaz Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletzky (Saint Petersburg, 14 March 1896 - New York, New York County, New York, 12 October 1968), who died unmarried and without issue.

He married firstly Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...

's daughter, Catherine Alexandrovna Yurievskaya
Catherine Yurievskaya
Princess Catherine Alexandrovna Yurievskaya , was the natural daughter of Alexander II of Russia by his mistress, later his wife, Catherine Dolgorukov. In her own family she was known as Katia...

 (1878-1959) at Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...

 on 6 October 1916. He divorced Catherine in 1924 without any issue and then Obolensky married Ava Alice Muriel Astor
Ava Alice Muriel Astor
Ava Alice Muriel Astor was the daughter of John Jacob Astor IV and Ava Lowle Willing and sister of Vincent Astor.-Early life:...

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

, on 24 July 1924, divorcing in 1932.

He was a soldier in two World War
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....

s and in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...

. He was a Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...

 in the U.S. paratroopers and a member of the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...

 (OSS), forerunner of the CIA, and made his first 5 jumps in 1943 and the age of 53. He captured Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

 with the crew of 3 in 1943. In 1958, he was Vice Chairman of the Board
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 of Hilton Hotels Corporation
Hilton Hotels Corporation
Hilton Worldwide is a global hospitality company. It is owned by the Blackstone Group, a private equity firm. As of July 2011 Hilton brands encompass 3,750 hotels with over 600,000 rooms in 84 countries...

.

Obolensky married Marilyn Fraser-Wall of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan
Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan
Grosse Pointe Farms is a suburban city bordering Detroit located in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It ranks as the 76th highest-income city in America. The population was 9,479 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Grosse Pointe on the west, Detroit on the north, Grosse Pointe Woods...

 on 3 June 1971, and they did not have any children.

He died in 1978, and is buried in Ipswich cemetery.

Issue

He had two children from his second marriage:
  • Ivan Sergeievich 6th Prince Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletzky.
  • Sylvia Sergeievna Knyaginya Obolenskaya-Neledinskaya-Meletzkaya (Vöcklabruck
    Vöcklabruck
    Vöcklabruck is the administrative center of the Vöcklabruck district, Austria. It is located in the western part of Upper Austria, close to the A1 Autobahn as well as the B1 highway, and has been ranked in the top 10 most-visited cities in Austria....

    , Austria
    Austria
    Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

    , 18 May 1931 - London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

    , Middlesex
    Middlesex
    Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

    , 27 June 1997), married firstly in New York
    New York City
    New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

    , New York County, New York
    New York
    New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

    , on 1 November 1950 and divorced in 1957 Jean-Louis Ganshof van der Meersch (Saint-Gilles
    Saint-Gilles, Belgium
    Saint-Gilles or Sint-Gillis is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.Saint-Gilles has a multicultural identity stemming from its diverse population...

    , Belgium
    Belgium
    Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

    , 14 July 1924 - Le Temple
    Le Temple, Gironde
    Le Temple is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...

    , Lacanau
    Lacanau
    Lacanau is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. Lacanau is a surfing area.Lacanau is a member of the Community of Municipalities Médoc's Lakes which includes the municipalities of Lacanau, Carcans and Hourtin : the territory Médoc Océan :...

    , France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

    , 22 August 1982), without issue, and married secondly at East Hampton
    East Hampton (town), New York
    The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...

    , New York, New York County, New York, on 11 August 1957 and divorced in 1963 Prince Azamat Kadir Giray (New York, New York County, New York, 14 August 1924 - The Bahamas
    The Bahamas
    The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...

    , 8 August 2001), son of Kadir Giray, Prince of Crimea
    Crimea
    Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...

     (1892 - 2 June 1953) and wife Vaguide Sheret-Luk and a direct descendant in male line of Genghis Khan
    Genghis Khan
    Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....

     and Börte
    Börte
    Börte was the first wife of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. Börte became the head of the first Court of Genghis Khan, and Grand Empress of his Empire. Little is known about the details of her early life, but she was betrothed to him at a young age, married at 17, and then...

     through Jochi
    Jochi
    Jochi was the eldest of the Mongol chieftain Genghis Khan's four sons by his principal wife Börte. An accomplished military leader, he participated in his father's conquest of Central Asia, along with his brothers and uncles.-Early life:...

     and the Khans of Crimea, and had issue.

Further reading

  • Obolensky, Serge. One Man in His Time: The Memoirs of Serge Obolensky (New York. McDowell, Obolensky, Inc. 1958). 433 pp. with index.
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