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David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye
David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye Obituary
KStJ, FRSC Historian
David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye, 64, who taught Russian history at Brock University for 20 years until his retirement in 2021, died on March 14, 2022.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge, UK, Schimmelpenninck was a leading specialist of Russia's pre-Revolutionary past, focusing on diplomatic, military and intellectual topics, and he is the author of several acclaimed books, including Toward the Rising Sun: Russian Ideologies of Empire and the Path to War with Japan and Russian Orientalism: Asia in the Russian Mind from Peter the Great to the Emigration. Together with his wife, Marie née Betteley, he also published Beyond Fabergé: Imperial Russian Jewelry. At the time of his death, he was writing a third monograph, about tsarist Russian diplomacy in Central Asia before 1917.
In 1990, David was invested as a Knight in the Johanniterorde (Order of St John) in the Netherlands and in 2021 the Imperial House of Russia awarded him the Imperial Order of St Anna second class. David's interest in history originated, in part, from his own family story. A baron, he hailed from a distinguished Dutch noble family. Meanwhile, his maternal grandfather, Konstantin Peshchanskii, was a Russian émigré, which introduced him to a completely different perspective. But his true passion for the past stemmed more from the personal philosophy his childhood helped form. Specifically, his deeply held belief that it is only through gaining a better understanding of other cultures that we as a global society can decrease the likelihood of conflict, as well as move our own cultures forward, by exploring how other people in other places live and work - learning from both their successes and failures.
David was educated at the University of Toronto Schools and at Yale College. He spent eight years as an investment banker in Toronto and the City of London before returning to Yale to complete his doctorate in history in 1997.
Schimmelpenninck was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Canadian Armour Corps in 1975, serving with the Queen's York Rangers (1st Americans), Canada's oldest regiment. As a member of its Regimental Council, he also actively promoted an understanding of the unit's distinguished past by, among other, completing Swift and Bold: The History of the Queen's York Rangers. His interests also included the Zeta Psi Fraternity.
David is survived by his wife of 26 years, Marie; his children, Esmée and Alexander; as well as his sisters, Esmée and Catherine; and brother, Nicholas.
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Memories and Condolences
for David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye
8 Entries
Kimberly A. Benoit
February 14, 2025
Sadly, I recently discovered David´s passing. He was a wonderful person with a good sense of humour who was supportive of fellow faculty members and their collective rights. I had many conversations with him over the years when I served as the Executive Director of the Brock University Faculty Association. My condolences to his wife, children, other family members and colleagues. Kimberly
Lawrence Gemmel
April 5, 2024
Very sorry to hear of David's untimely passing. It is perhaps a tribute to his remarkable personality that I remember David very clearly and fondly from 1975-76 through our mutual involvement in the Southern Ontario Model United Nations Assembly SOMA. David preceded me as Secretary General and was a wonderful friend and mentor, contributing greatly to the success of our event. He then arranged for us to send a team from Port Credit to the model UN at Yale, a very significant event in my life for which he was a gracious and generous host.
My best wishes and sympathy to David's family and his sister Esmée.
Vasco
August 28, 2022
I am stunned and saddened. David was my advisor for my Masters degree and he made the process enjoyable.
Going back to school at 40 was daunting but David would discuss everything with me, ensuring that I was prepared for what was to come. Many a day was closed discussing military history or travels, all with a Port or Scotch.
My wife and I send our condolences to all of David's family and friends and to his Brock colleagues and students that shared his love for history.
Dwight Hamilton
July 18, 2022
This is most difficult to write as I had to shadow Dave for my first day on the job back in 1982 and his passing at age 64 is premature to say the least.
His ceremonious bearing and waxed-tip mustache made a considerable impression on me then, and his editorial advice in later years proved invaluable.
Yuki-san will miss you as well.
"Mata chikai uchi ni aeru to ii ne."
Tracey Naldjieff
June 26, 2022
Dr. Schimmelpenninck was a lovely individual to work with. Polite, gracious, personable, and a terrific sense of humour. I am so sorry to hear of his passing. My sincere sympathies to his family.
John Thompson
June 16, 2022
I first met him in November 1980 and learned we had Zeta Psi and the Rangers in common. He always delighted in the world of books and ideas, and was leaning that way but David held the door open and invited me in. A favorite memory will always be the long hours we spent discussing the whichness of wherefore, and the whyness of what.
John Thompson
June 16, 2022
We first met in November 1980, with Zeta Psi and the Rangers in common. David was always happiest in the world of books and ideas, I was inclined that way, but David held the door open and ushered me in. Our long rambling discussions exploring the whichness of wherefore and the whyness of what will always be among my favorite memories.
Bob
June 16, 2022
Once again, my deepest sympathies to David's family. He was a great man in so many ways.
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