On June 15, 1798, Prince Alexander Gorchakov, an outstanding diplomat, the last chancellor of the Russian Empire, was born. Personal business Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov (1798 - 1883) was born in Gapsala (now Haapsalu), a city in the territory of modern Estonia. The princely clan of the Gorchakovs goes back to Rurik. His father, Prince Mikhail Alekseevich, was Major General. Due to the father’s military service, the family often moved, they lived in Khapsal, Revel, St. Petersburg. In St.