Johann Hinrich Thomsen

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Johann Hinrich Thomsen (* 1740 (not 1749) in the fishing region ; buried on April 26, 1776 in Basedow ) was a German village school teacher and poet.

Live and act

Thomsen's origins are not exactly known, and there is no precise information about his youth or training. His birthplace as the son of poor rural people was certainly in fishing. He did not attend secondary school and did not learn Latin until he was an adult. In a letter to Friedrich von Hahn he wrote that he had enjoyed mathematics since his youth, but that because of his “poverty” he was only able to acquire a textbook for beginners. As a result, he did not receive any basic mathematical education.

Later on, Thomsen dealt more and more with land surveying , which was often used due to agricultural reforms . In the religious area he was probably trained in particular by the pastor August Esmarch in Ulsnis and his son H. Chr. P. Esmarch, who worked in Schleswig and Thomsen taught Latin privately.

Before 1769 Thomsen received the post of schoolmaster from Kius . He read contemporary German works by Christian Fürchtegott Gellert , Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and Anakreontiker and then wrote poetry himself. This made him so well known that in the summer of 1769, presumably because of family relationships between the Esmarchs, he met people from Flensburg who were interested in literature , including Christian Hieronymus Esmarch and Members of the Boie family. Heinrich Christian Boie , who studied in Göttingen during this time and helped authors in need, heard about Thomsen's works from friends and siblings and supported him. From 1770 Boie Thomsen published poems in the Göttingen Musenalmanach . Together with Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, he wanted to create a subscription edition of Thomsen's texts, which Friedrich Nicolai wanted to take over as publisher. This project did not materialize, also because the poet did not write enough. However, Boie managed to convince Friedrich von Hahne to promote Thomsen. Von Hahne initially helped financially and later employed him as an inspector of his estate, Basedow. Thomsen then lived for some time on von Hahnes Gut Neuhaus , where he carried out surveying work. He then moved to Mecklenburg, where he did not write any more poems.

Thomsen worked epigonally and entirely in a contemporary style. Boie, Gleim and their surroundings praised him as a "natural poet". He was an example that humanity, sensitivity and artistic talent are not only to be found in the high and educated classes. Therefore they felt it was their duty to support the author.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Thomsen, Johann Hinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German village school teacher and poet
DATE OF BIRTH 1740
PLACE OF BIRTH fishing
DATE OF DEATH before April 26, 1776
Place of death Basedow