Xaver Zeltner
(1764-1835)
Xaver Zeltner, also known as Franz Xaver Zeltner (19 November 1764 – 18 September 1835), was a Swiss officer, politician, senator of the Helvetic Republic, and judge. His home in Solothurn served as the residence and final resting place of Polish national leader Tadeusz Kościuszko.
Biography
Early life and education
Xaver Zeltner, born Urs Xaver Joseph Anton Zeltner, was born in Solothurn, Switzerland, to Franz Anton Zeltner, a member of the Great Council (Grossrat), and Maria Anna de La Martinière. His uncle, Franz Peter Alois Zeltner, was the director of the mint and city secretary of Solothurn. Zeltner attended the Jesuit college in Solothurn and served as an officer in the Cent-Suisses in Paris from 1781 to 1788.
Administrative career
In 1788, Zeltner became a clerk (Amtsschreiber) in the Flumenthal district before returning to Solothurn as a notary. From 1793 to 1798, he served in the Great Council of the Canton of Solothurn and acted as Landvogt (bailiff) in Lugano from 1793 to 1794.
Role in the Helvetic Republic
In February 1798, Zeltner was arrested in Solothurn as a patriot, a supporter of revolutionary reforms inspired by the French Revolution and the Helvetic Revolution. The traditional patrician authorities viewed reformers as a threat. Released the following month after French troops intervened, he joined the provisional government of the Canton of Solothurn and, on 26 March 1798, became a senator of the Helvetic Republic.
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This entry incorporates text from “Xaver Zeltner” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.