Carl Gotthilf Büttner
Carl Gotthilf Büttner (born December 24, 1848 in Königsberg i. Pr. , † December 14, 1893 in Berlin ) was a Protestant pastor , missionary and linguist .
Life
Carl Gotthilf Büttner studied theology at the University of Königsberg and then went to the Rhenish Mission Society in Barmen to be trained as a missionary. From 1873 to 1880 he was a missionary in Nama and Damaraland in what would later become the German colony of German South West Africa . But Büttner's interests and talents were more in linguistics.
He translated the New Testament into the Herero language and published writings on the structure of the Herero language. In 1880 he returned to Germany, where he took over a pastorate in the small East Prussian town of Wormditt . Büttner was married to Eliza Börngen, a cousin of the Altenburg factory owner Hugo Köhler , who was a nephew of the ornithologist and herpetologist Hermann Schlegel . Together with Hugo Köhler and the Africa researcher Otto Kersten, Eliza Börngen translated the book Hermann Schlegel - Life Picture of a Naturalist (author: Hermann Schlegel's son Gustaaf Schlegel, publisher: Hugo Köhler) from Dutch into German .
Due to its special country and language skills he was sent in 1885 by the German government as a "kingdom authorized representative" with official missions to South West Africa to share with Reich Commissioner Heinrich Goering , the father of the Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering , on behalf of the German Emperor Wilhelm II. With the local population in the inland north of Angra Pequena (later: Lüderitzbucht ) to conclude friendship and protection agreements. This journey began on April 23, 1885 from Southampton ( England ) with arrival on September 22, 1885 in Okahandja , led him to the land of the Nama , the Baster and the Herero . His return began on November 11 of the same year in Walvis Bay with the journey to Cape Town , from there it left on December 9 and ended on December 31, 1885 in Cologne . On the day of his arrival, Büttner was received personally by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and welcomed by his congregation in Wormditt on January 9, 1886. On February 18, 1886, he was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle, 4th class, for his services .
After his return, Büttner took over the office of mission inspector of the German-East African Mission Society founded in 1886 . However, after strong criticism of the link between mission and colonialism , he was dismissed from office in 1889.
Most recently, Büttner worked as a teacher for Swahili (also: Swahili) at the Berlin " Seminar for Oriental Languages " and published several writings on the Swahili language. The University of Königsberg awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1888 for his scientific work . Two years after his death (1895), his former “student” Gustav Neuhaus succeeded him as a Swahili teacher at the seminary.
honors and awards
- Red Eagle Order 4th Class (1886)
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Königsberg (1888)
literature
- Diedrich Hermann Westermann : Büttner, Karl Gotthilf. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 7 ( digitized version ).
- Gustav Menzel: CG Büttner. Missionary, linguist and politician in the German colonial movement . Publisher of the United Evangelical Mission, 2nd edition, Wuppertal 1995
- Ernst Dammann : Preliminary remark to the report of Pastor CG Büttner in DSWA to His Highness the Reich Chancellor Prince Bismarck . In: Namibiana . Issue 11, page 55f., SWA Scientific Society, Windhoek 1987, ISSN 0259-2010
- Report by Pastor CG Büttner in DSWA to His Highness the Reich Chancellor Prince Bismarck . In: Namibiana . Issue 11, page 59f., SWA Scientific Society, Windhoek 1987, ISSN 0259-2010
- Compilation of Büttner's numerous magazine articles up to 1888 in: E. Wallroth: What has the current mission accomplished for geography . In: General Mission Journal . Issue 16, page 295, 1889
Web links
- biography
- Literature by and about Carl Gotthilf Büttner in the catalog of the German National Library
- Literature list in the online catalog of the Berlin State Library
Footnotes
- ^ German biography
- ^ Teltower Kreisblatt dated December 19, 1893, p. 2.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Büttner, Carl Gotthilf |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Büttner, Karl Gotthilf |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Protestant pastor, missionary and linguist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 24, 1848 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Koenigsberg i. Pr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 14, 1893 |
| Place of death | Berlin |