Heinrich Conrad Bierwirth

Heinrich Conrad Bierwirth (born April 20, 1853 in Weddelbrook ; † February 3, 1940 in Cambridge (Massachusetts) , USA) was a German specialist in German . He was Professor of German Studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Life

Bierwirth broke off his attendance at the Realgymnasium in Celle in 1870 in the Obersekunda to go to sea as a cabin boy in Hamburg. In the spring of 1874 he ended his seaman career, which he had only briefly interrupted in 1872 to visit his relatives in Germany, in New York . He immigrated to the United States on April 15, 1874, traveled on to Chicago to stay with his mother's relatives, and began working in a leather shop in Michigan . There he specifically improved his English and attended various advanced training events.

In 1876 he went to Andover to the Phillips Academy , a preparatory school for colleges. His private lessons in German made it possible for him to visit Germany for the first time in 1879. In order to avoid any difficulties when entering the country because of the military service he had not yet completed, he previously took on the US citizenship in April 1879. In Germany he visited his parents in Meinersen, among others . After two years of training at Phillips Academy, he enrolled at Harvard University in 1880. He successfully completed his studies in 1884 and returned to the Phillips Academy as a teacher, including for German. In 1887 he began a specialist course in Germany and studied three semesters at the University of Berlin and two semesters at the University of Jena . During this time he wrote his dissertation on the subject of the vocals of the dialect of Meinersen , which he successfully completed in Jena in February 1890.

In the fall of 1892 Bierwirth began his career at Harvard University as an instructor, followed by positions as assistant professor, associated professor and finally professor. Heinrich Conrad Bierwirth is still up-to-date with reprint editions with his books on learning the German language, written at Harvard University and published between 1900 and 1918.

Fonts

• The vocals of the Meinersen dialect. Jena 1890 (dissertation).
• On the history of the word butterfly. In: Contributions to the history of the German language and literature. Volume 15. 1890, pp. 387-389.
• The Elements of German. New York 1900.
• Words of Frequent Occurrence in Ordinary German. New York 1900.
• Beginning German. A Series of Lessons with an Abstract of Grammar. New York 1903.
• German Inflection: Arranged in Parallels. New York 1908.
• Harvest. A German Reader with Practical Exercises. Boston 1918.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Heinrich Conrad Bierwirth: From the life of a German-American. The Register Press, Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts 1947. p. 25
2. ^ Heinrich Conrad Bierwirth: From the life of a German-American . The Register Press, Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts 1947.