Men of Distinction – Abram Petrovich Gannibal (1696-1781).
Vitals – 1696-1781Afro-Russian general, engineer, and nobleman, the first of such lineage to attain status in the Russian royal court. Kidnapped at the age of seven, he was taken to the court of the Ottoman Sultan in Constantinople and later ransomed and sent to Russia to the court of Emperor Peter the Great. Having taken a keen interest in young Gannibal, Peter absorbed him into his household, where he developed a close bond with the Emperor’s family.
Educated in Metz, excelled in his studies, and developed fluency in several languages.
Served in the Russian military, eventually obtaining the rank of Major General.
Served a post as governor of Reval (Estonia), and was a noted member of the Russian court.
Great grandfather of celebrated Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, the founder of modern Russian literature.
Father of Ivan Gannibal, accomplished naval officer and General in Chief of the Russian military.
Several prominent current British aristocrats descend from his esteemed lineage.
musings at random. 
Very interesting. History is public schools is sorely lacking the whole truth!
History is full of characters relegated to footnotes. It’s so fun to discover all of those that have gone before us. It’s a duty and responsibility to make sure that they’re not completely forgotten and lost to history.
Another case of true history revealed. Thanks for this post. I might never have come across this one on my own.
Glad you stopped by to check it out! There’s such a great wealth of little known (not widely distributed/acknowledged) history out there. It’s such a pleasure to uncover and pay some sort of small tribute to it and them.
I’m officially adding Afro-centric Global Historian to your already distinguished title. There, it’s done!