Jacob Johan Anckarström
Assassin of Swedish King Gustav III
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Key Takeaways
- Jacob Johan Anckarström (11 May 1762 – 27 April 1792) was a Swedish military officer who is known as the assassin of King Gustav III of Sweden.
- Life He was the son of Jacob Johan Anckarström the Elder and Hedvig Ulrika Drufva.
- Anckarström served as a page at court and then as a captain in King Gustav III's regiment between 1778 and 1783.
- Although he was acquitted due to lack of evidence, he later maintained in his confession that this incident sparked his fire of hatred towards the king, fuelled by the contemporary revolutionary movement in Europe.
- This dislike was increased by a war against Russia and his implementation of the Union and Security Act of 1789 which stripped the nobles of nearly all of their power and privileges, as well as by the king's desire to interfere in favour of Louis XVI in the ongoing French Revolution.
Jacob Johan Anckarström (11 May 1762 – 27 April 1792) was a Swedish military officer who is known as the assassin of King Gustav III of Sweden. He was convicted and executed for regicide.
Life
He was the son of Jacob Johan Anckarström the Elder and Hedvig Ulrika Drufva. He married Gustaviana Elisabet Löwen (1764-1844) in 1783, and had two daughters and two sons: Gustafva Eleonora Löwenström (1785-1860), Carolina Lovisa, Johan Jacob and Carl David.
Anckarström served as a page at court and then as a captain in King Gustav III's regiment between 1778 and 1783. During travels to Gotland, he was accused of slandering the king and fled to Stockholm, where he spent the winter; he was subsequently arrested, brought back, and tried in Gotland. Although he was acquitted due to lack of evidence, he later maintained in his confession that this incident sparked his fire of hatred towards the king, fuelled by the contemporary revolutionary movement in Europe.
Beginning in 1788 the Swedish nobles were starting to become violently opposed to the king, who, through the aid of the other estates in Parliament, had wrested most of their power from them and was now ruling the nation as an absolute ruler. This dislike was increased by a war against Russia and his implementation of the Union and Security Act of 1789 which stripped the nobles of nearly all of their power and privileges, as well as by the king's desire to interfere in favour of Louis XVI in the ongoing French Revolution. Anckarström, a man of strong passions and known to have a violent temper, decided the only path forward was the assassination of the king and communicated his intention to other disaffected nobles, including the Counts Claes Horn and Adolf Ribbing.
An early attempt to kill the king at a masquerade ball ended in failure.
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