Gustav Demelius

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Gustav Demelius

Gustav Demelius (born January 31, 1831 in Allstedt ; † November 7, 1891 in Vienna ) was a German - Austrian lawyer and university professor . He was one of the most important theorists of Roman law and wrote works on modern civil law and the order of civil procedure .

Life

Youth and Studies

Gustav Demelius was born as the son of the lawyer and mayor of Allstedt and received his first lessons from his uncle, the then Rector Domrich in Allstedt. He continued his education at the monastery school Roßleben and later switched to the Wilhelm-Ernst-Gymnasium in Weimar , which at that time was under the direction of the philologist and teacher Hermann Sauppe .

In 1849 he started at the University of Jena to study philology and changed, inspired by the reading of the "Cursus institutions" by Georg Friedrich Puchta , the field of study to law . Heinrich Aemilius August Danz , Eduard Fein and Burkard Wilhelm Leist were among his teachers . He attended exegetical and practical exercises, took an active part in student life and was a member of the Jena fraternity of Germania in a leading position .

He continued his studies in Weimar, where his father was meanwhile working at the district court, and prepared for the state examination , which he passed in Eisenach . On April 18, 1855 received his doctorate he with distinction for doctorate in law .

In Weimar he was in contact with important personalities such as Ludwig and Friedrich Preller or Ernst Rietschel . With Friedrich Preller he met the daughter of the former personal physician of Grand Duke Karl August and friend of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , whom he married in 1858.

academic career

Demelius had early intention to pursue an academic career and went in the summer of 1855 to Prague because he was at the Charles University of Roman Law habilitieren wanted. He hoped to gain a permanent position as an academic teacher here at an earlier point in time than would probably have been the case in Germany from his point of view. In the Austrian Empire , the Minister for Cultus and Education , Leo von Thun and Hohenstein , had started reforming the universities and legal faculties , and younger teachers were to be trained and used in this subject. Eduard Egmund Joseph Chambon , who worked as a full professor of Roman law at the university, tried to promote Demelius' habilitation, but this was associated with difficulties because the doctoral degree acquired in Jena was not valid in Austria. Only after a nostrification did Demelius habilitation in Roman law at the University of Prague and after Easter 1856 began his work as a private lecturer . During his stay in Prague, in addition to Chambon, he maintained intensive contacts with the philologist Ludwig Lange and the linguist August Schleicher .

In 1857 Demelius was appointed full professor of Roman law at the University of Cracow and took stimulating close contact with the aesthetician Francis Thomas Bratranek , who later became the rector of the university. When the Polonization began in 1860 , he remained a professor, but without the right or obligation to give lectures. Demelius turned down an offer to the University of Zurich because he was still in Austria.

The embarrassing situation for Demelius came to an end when he was appointed professor at the University of Graz in 1862 . Here he settled in well, worked for 39 semesters without interruption and maintained contacts with Karl von Holtei and Anastasius Grün . He was elected dean several times , was rector in the academic year 1875/76 and in this capacity he presided over a large festive summer that was held in 1876 on the occasion of Anastasius Grün's 70th birthday. At first he rejected an appointment to Vienna as well as one to Giessen . One of his students at this time was Emil Strohal , who became known beyond the borders of the German-speaking area through his work at the legal institute for owner-occupied mortgages.

In the course of the study and teaching reforms of Leo Graf Thun and Hohenstein, Demelius was appointed to Vienna in 1881. received the title of Hofrat and gave his inaugural lecture on the study of the Roman civil process in October . He turned down an appointment to succeed Ferdinand Regelsberger at the Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg .

Demelius had enjoyed great popularity in Graz, as shown by a large farewell party organized by friends, colleagues and students. He was also a great lover of nature, often spent his holidays in Graz and used it for excursions into the surrounding area and the more distant high mountain world. He has climbed numerous peaks in the Austrian Alps , was recognized in the mountain guide circles and a valued member of the Graz section of the Austrian Alpine Association , where he gave stimulating lectures on tourist services and experiences and wrote reports for the journal of the Alpine Association.

Relief Gustav Demelius by Wilhelm Seib in the arcade courtyard of the University of Vienna

Demelius died suddenly and unexpectedly on November 7, 1891 at his desk in Vienna of a heart attack and was buried in the Evangelical Cemetery in Matzleinsdorf . Several years after his death, his half-relief made of white marble , made at the expense of the state, was unveiled in the arcade courtyard of the University of Vienna as part of a celebration to commemorate his services to law .

Works (selection)

  • 1887: Oath of arbitration and oath of evidence in the Roman civil trial
  • 1872: The importance of the exhibition obligation for classical and present-day law: legal investigation ( online )
  • 1887: Legum quae ad ius civile spectant fragmenta
  • 1858: Article on acquisition of rights in the General Austrian Court Newspaper

Honors and recognitions

Web links

Commons : Gustav Demelius  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gustav Demelius in the Austria Forum , accessed on March 19, 2016
  2. ↑ a b Gustav Demelius in " Deutsche Biographie " , accessed on March 19, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Demelius, Gustav
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Austrian lawyer and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH January 31, 1831
PLACE OF BIRTH Allstedt
DATE OF DEATH November 7, 1891
Place of death Vienna