George Grote
George Grote (born November 17, 1794 in Clay Hill near Beckenham, today London , † June 18, 1871 in London ) was an English ancient historian .
George Grote (pronounced Groht), originally from a German family, was brought up at the Charterhouse School and entered his father's banking business at the age of 16, but also devoted himself to studying the old classics and taking an active part in the political movements of his time. From 1817 on, Grote was influenced by the British economist David Ricardo and through him also by the two utilitarian social reformers Jeremy Bentham and James Mill .
In 1821 he published an anonymous pamphlet against Sir James Mackintosh's Essay on parliamentary reform and later wrote a small work: On the essentials of parliamentary reform .
Elected to Parliament for London in December 1832, he joined the radical party and set himself the task of introducing the secret ballot, which he proposed every year. However, since he did not succeed in defeating the resistance of the Conservatives and a large part of the Whigs , he resigned his mandate in 1841 and resigned from banking a year and a half later, only to deal with the elaboration of his History of Greece (London 1846 –56, 12 vols. Plus 2nd vol. Excursions; 5th ed. 1883, 12 vols .; German, 2nd ed., Berlin 1880, 4 vols .; the sections mythology and antiquities especially translated from it by T. Fischer, Leipzig 1856–60, 4 vols.), Which he started in 1823, and which is characterized by the thoroughness of the research as well as the popularity and beauty of the presentation. It encompasses all of the time from the earliest beginnings of the Greeks to the death of Alexander the Great .
Grotesque republican sentiment is evident in the favorable assessment of Athenian democracy. This was followed by Plato, and the other companions of Sokrates (1864, 3 vols .; 4th ed. 1885); a similar work on Aristotle (ed. von Bain and Robertson, 1872, 2 vols .; 2nd ed. 1879) remained unfinished.
In 1853 Grote was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a foreign member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences . Oxford University also made him an honorary doctorate in 1853; In 1868 he became Vice Chancellor of the University of London, of which he was also a co-founder. He died on June 18, 1871 and was buried next to Edward Gibbon in Westminster Abbey.
George Grote was related to the German-Baltic noble family " von Grote " through their common progenitor Helmcke Grote, a merchant in Bremen .
Published from his estate:
- Minor works, with critical remarks (1873);
- Fragments on ethical subjects (1876) and
- Seven letters concerning the poliltics of Switzerland pending the outbreak of the civil war in 1847 (1876); an investigation into the Sonderbund War .
His wife Harriet Grote (died on December 29, 1878), who was equal in spirit and education, published his biography after his death (in German by Leopold Seligmann , Leipzig 1874).
literature
- Harriet Grote: George Grote, his life and work from family papers, diaries and original letters . With portrait in steel engraving and facs. Compiled by Harriet Grote. Translation by Leopold Seligmann (The personal life of George Grote). Leipzig: Brockhaus 1874.
- Arnaldo Momigliano : George Grote and the Study of Greek History . London: HK Lewis and Co., Ltd. 1952.
- Martin L. Clarke: George Grote: A Biography . London: Athlone Press 1962.
- William M. Calder III (Ed.): George Grote reconsidered. A 200th birthday celebration . (Added: With a first ed. Of his essay "Of the Athenian government". Ed. By William M. Calder III and Stephen Trzaskoma). (Festschrift for George Grote). Hildesheim: Weidmann 1996, ISBN 3-615-00180-X .
- Kyriacos N. Demetriou: George Grote on Plato and Athenian democracy. A study in classical reception . Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Vienna: Peter Lang 1999, ISBN 3-631-32739-0 ; ISBN 0-8204-3554-6 .
- Kyriakos N. Demetriou (Ed.): Brill's Companion to George Grote and the Classical Tradition. Leiden: Brill 2014, ISBN 978-90-04-26910-1 .
Web links
- Literature by and about George Grote in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Grote, George |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English ancient historian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 17, 1794 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 18, 1871 |
| Place of death | London |