David Hess

David Hess (29 November 1770, Zurich – 11 April 1843, Unterstrass) was a Swiss writer, caricaturist, and politician. Life Hess grew up on a country estate, the Beckenhof, in Zurich-Unterstrass. His father, Johann Rudolf Hess, was a Dutch officer stationed in Zurich. His mother, Martha de la Tour, was the daughter of a French mining engineer. In accordance with his father's wishes, Hess pursued a military career from 1787 to 1796 as a Swiss Guard in Holland. He was witness to the massacre at the Swiss garden by French revolutionary troops, which made him a decided opponent of the revolution. In 1796 David Hess returned to Zurich. He saw the invasion of French troops and the end of the Old Swiss Confederation while serving as a captain with the Zurich troops in Aarberg, but did not take part in the battle of Berne or the battle at Grauholz. In May of the following year he married Anna Hirzel. She died in 1802 after the birth of their second child. In 1805 he married Salome Vischer.