| Wilhelm Schmidt von der Launitz | |
| Birth Name: | Georg Wilhelm Eduard Launitz |
| Birth Place: | Grobin, Grobin County, Courland Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Grobiņa, Grobiņa Municipality, Latvia) |
| Death Date: | (aged 62) |
| Death Place: | Kharkov, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Kharkiv, Ukraine) |
| Spouse: | Mathilde Luise Henriette von Budberg |
| Children: | 5 children |
| Office: | Commander of the Kharkov Military District |
| Predecessor: | Position established |
| Successor: | Sigizmund Merkhilevich |
| Branch: | Imperial Russian Army |
| Serviceyears: | 1819–1864 |
| Rank: | General of the Cavalry |
| Commands: | 10th Odessa Lancers Regiment Separate Corps of the Internal Guards Kharkov Military District (August–October 1864) |
| Battles: | November Uprising Hungarian Revolution of 1848 |
Georg Wilhelm "William" Eduard Schmidt von der Launitz (Born Launitz; ru|Васи́лий Фёдорович Лауниц, tr. ; 1802) was a Baltic German general in the service of the Imperial Russian Army. Launitz was noted for being a strict and disciplined commander, and thanks to his effort, many of his troops’ living conditions were improved. Launitz also served as the first commander of the Kharkov Military District from August 1864 before dying from falling of his horse in October of the same year.
Georg Wilhelm Eduard von der Launitz was born on into the family of Christian Friedrich Launitz, a pastor in Grobin, and Dorothea Elizabeth Kolb, he was the brother of the sculptor Robert and nephew to another famous sculptor Eduard Schmidt von der Launitz. Little was known about the Launitz family’s (ru) history, the only known history was that first ever known ancestor was Jürgen Launitz, all what was known about him was that he was a landowner in Courland in the 16th Century.[1] The commoner family was recognized with Holy Roman nobility in 1802, but it was not until 1817 then the family adopted the title Schmidt von der Launitz.[2]
In 1842, Launitz married Baroness Mathilde Luise Henriette, they had 5 children including Michael, who was a hussar[3] like his father. All of his children were baptized in Lutheran churches, although Michael soon came under the influence of his Russian Orthodox wife and converted to Orthodoxy.[4] [5]