Hermann Weißenborn (philologist)

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Hermann Weißenborn (full name Johann Christian Hermann Weißenborn , also Weissenborn , born September 24, 1813 in Gera , † January 16, 1886 in Erfurt ) was a German classical philologist , historian and librarian . He worked at the University of Jena from 1840 to 1849 and from 1849 in Erfurt at the Royal High School (until 1877) and at the Royal Library .

Life

Hermann Weißenborn was the son of the Princely Councilor and Tax Director Johann Christian Andreas Weißenborn (Sonneborn 1766 - Gera 1818) and Friederike Christiane Sara Dorothea "Dorette", née. Rousseau (Gotha 1777 - Gera 1845). He grew up with six siblings in Untermhaus near Gera. After the early death of his father, he received private lessons and attended the Rutheneum grammar school from 1822 to 1829 . He then studied classical philology, initially at the University of Munich , where he was particularly influenced by Friedrich Thiersch ; from 1830 then in Leipzig . In the summer of 1830 his family suffered another stroke of fate: his sisters Anna Philippine and Antonie died in June and September respectively in Milan , where they and their mother had visited a brother. Hermann Weißenborn finished his studies in Leipzig with a doctorate as Dr. phil. in January 1832; his inaugural dissertation was suggested and supervised by Gottfried Hermann .

Weissenborn returned to Gera at Easter 1833 and taught there as a substitute at the Rutheneum grammar school during the illness of the director August Gotthilf Rein . At the same time he arranged for the printing of his first scientific treatise, which he had written in Leipzig and published in 1834. The following years were characterized by frequent changes of location and further qualifications: In order to enter the Prussian school service, Weißenborn moved to Berlin in July 1834 and deepened his studies at the university there . In particular, he attended courses in archeology and linguistics ( Old German and Sanskrit ). As early as November 1834, he passed the senior teacher examination and went to the Friedrichswerder high school as a trial candidate , where he was not given a permanent position. Instead, Prince Adolf zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen employed him from October 1865 as a private tutor to his son Carl . Weißenborn taught the prince for two years at the family residence in Koschentin and then accompanied him to the University of Breslau in 1837 , where Carl studied law; With his entry into the Prussian army, Weißenborn's private tutoring ended.

After a short stay in Gera (January to May 1840) Weißenborn completed his habilitation in Classical Philology at the University of Jena . The seminar directors Heinrich Karl Eichstädt , Ferdinand Gotthelf Hand and Karl Wilhelm Göttling supported the young private lecturer and in October 1843 achieved his appointment as associate professor; but Weißenborn's teaching success was rather poor and the prospects for a full professorship weak. That is why Weißenborn finally left the University of Jena and went to the Royal High School in Erfurt as a senior teacher . There he taught various subjects (mainly Latin, Greek, German and history) and continued his academic work. He also worked as a librarian at the Royal Library , where he managed, among other things, the manuscript holdings of the Bibliotheca Amploniana . He remained active as a librarian even after he retired (Easter 1877).

Scientific work

Weißenborn had various research focuses in the course of his life. His preoccupation with Greek metrics came from his time as a student in Leipzig , and this continued into his Jena years. Both the inaugural dissertation and the habilitation thesis belong to this area. In Jena he switched to Greek history and topography , on which he published a highly regarded monograph entitled Hellen (1844), which was dedicated to his three colleagues Eichstädt, Hand and Göttling. These interests were later reflected in his treatise on the excavations at Nineveh (1851).

Even in Jena, Weißenborn shifted more and more to the history of science and education in the early modern period . In the run-up to the 300th anniversary of the founding of the University of Jena, he published letters from Philipp Melanchthon in 1848 relating to the founding of the university and Melanchthon's appointment to it. In Erfurt, Weißenborn then dealt intensively with the history of education there and wrote important writings on the city's scholarly school system and on the Bibliotheca Amploniana. In retirement he worked on basic editions on the history of the old Erfurt University , including the foundation deeds, the statutes from 1447 and the student registers for the years 1392 to 1636. In this work he was supported above all by the librarian Adalbert Hortzschansky , who was responsible for the register of the student register prepared for publication (1899).

Fonts (selection)

  • De versibus iambico-antispasticis . Leipzig 1834
  • De basi versuum glyconeorum . Jena 1840 (habilitation thesis)
  • De versibus glyconicis. Particula prima: De basi versuum glyconeorum . Leipzig 1840
  • De versibus glyconicis. Particula secunda: De numero primario versuum glyconeorum . Leipzig 1841
  • Bright. Contributions to more detailed research into ancient Greek history, with special consideration for the topography . Jena 1844
  • Philipp Melanthon's correspondence about the establishment of the University of Jena and his appointment to the same . Jena 1848
  • Appendix librorum symbolicorum ecclesiae orientalis. Ex schedis posthumis Ernesti Julii Kimmel… edidit, praefationem indicem et additamenta ad partem priorem adiecit Herm. Yeah. Christian. Weissenborn . Jena 1850
  • Nineveh and its area with regard to the latest excavations in the Tigristhale . Erfurt 1851
  • Hierana I. II. III. Contributions to the history of the Erfurt academic school system . Erfurt 1862
  • The documents on the history of Amplonius de Fago . In: Communications of the association for the history and antiquity of Erfurt . Vol. 8 (1877), pp. 87-128; Volume 9 (1880), pp. 129-183
  • Acts on the history of the University of Erfurt. Part 1: Papal Foundation Bulls. Statutes from 1447. General student register, first half (1392–1492) . Hall 1881
  • Acts of the Erfurt University. Part 2: General and Faculty Statutes from 1390-1636. General student register, part two (1493–1636) . Hall 1884
  • Acts of the Erfurt University. Part 3: Register for general student enrollment (1392–1636) . Hall 1899

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Hermann Weißenborn  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Weißenborn, Hermann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Weissenborn, Hermann; Weißenborn, Johann Christian Hermann (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German classical philologist, historian and librarian
DATE OF BIRTH September 24, 1813
PLACE OF BIRTH Gera
DATE OF DEATH January 16, 1886
Place of death Erfurt