Johannes Luther

Grave of Johannes Luther in the old cemetery in Greifswald

Johannes Luther (born October 12, 1861 in Seehausen (Altmark) , † May 1, 1954 in Greifswald ) was a German specialist in German and librarianship .

Live and act

Johannes Luther attended high school in Salzwedel and from 1881 studied German, English and Romance studies at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin . During his studies in 1882 he became a member of the Palaiomarchia Berlin Landsmannschaft . In 1885 he passed the exams for teaching at secondary schools and in 1887 he received his doctorate at the University of Halle on the subject of "The Language of Luther in the September Bible ". He got his first job in 1887 as a research assistant at the Royal Library in Berlin . In the course of his work at the Royal Library in Berlin, he was promoted to library assistant and finally to librarian. In 1903 Johannes Luther was officially appointed to the staff of the large Weimar Luther edition . In the context of this edition he was in charge of volumes 10 to 54. In 1908 he was employed as senior librarian and deputy director at the Greifswald University Library , and in 1921 he was appointed Director of the Greifswald University Library. After retiring in 1927, he was still active as a professor of library science and newspaper studies at the University of Greifswald from 1927 to 1937 ; however, he was appointed professor in 1912.

He was temporarily co-editor of the "Annual Reports on Apparitions in the Field of Germanic Philology" and published numerous works on book studies, the history of book printing, the reformer Martin Luther and the history of newspapers in Pomerania. During his time in Berlin, he made a contribution with his work "Über den Namen Salzwedel", which, although it plays an outsider role in his overall work, is still fundamental to the interpretation of the place name. He also published several articles on the history of the city in Greifswald, such as “About antiquities and street names in Greifswald” in 1910 and later “A Swedish field printing company in Greifswald in 1806”.

In 1917 Johann Luther was made an honorary doctor of theology by the Theological Faculty of the University of Greifswald. On the occasion of his 70th birthday on October 12, 1931, he received the honorary citizenship of the city of Greifswald and on the occasion of his 80th birthday the Goethe Medal for Art and Science .

Works (selection)

• The language of Luther in the September Bible , Halle: Druck v. H. Hoffmann, Salzwedel 1887.
• To the Physiologus . In: Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen , vol. 7 (1890), p. 382 ( digitized version )
• The Reformation Bibliography and the History of the German Language , Berlin: Reimer 1898.
• (together with Heinrich Meisner) The invention of the art of printing. For the five hundredth birthday of Johann Gutenberg, Bielefeld a. a .: Velhagen & Klasing 1900 (monographs on world history; 11) ( digitized version ).
• Relationships with Dr. M. Luthers on Wartburg and Koburg , Berlin: Ernst, 1900.
• The book printing and book decoration of the old masters , Berlin: Hofmann, [1901].
• The title frames of the Reformation period, Leipzig: Haupt 1909–1913.
• From the printer's practice during the Reformation , Leipzig: Harrassowitz 1910.
• New ways of the Luther bibliography, Weimar: Böhlau 1910.
• Studies on the bibliography of the church postil by M. Luther , Leipzig: Harrassowitz, 1915.
• Luther. Memorial book, Leipzig [u. a.]: Grethlein 1917.
• Martin Luther's interpretation of the 90th Psalm. A literary festival greeting from the Wittenberg theologians to the Queen of Denmark in 1548 , Berlin: Breslauer 1920 (Bibliographies and Studies; 2).
• Scholarly work and publishing activities in Greifswald mainly in the first half of the 19th century, Greifswald: Ratsbuchhandlung L. Bamberg 1924.
• Pomeranian newspapers from the time of the Thirty Years War , Greifswald: Abel 1928 (From the treasures of the University Library of Greifswald; 3)
• The “Report through Pomerania”. The oldest known Pomeranian newspaper from 1636 , Stettin: Hessenland 1930.
• Johannes Luther, the Reformer's eldest son , Berlin, Leipzig: de Gruyter 1930 (Greifswald studies on Luther research and modern intellectual history; 1).
• Preparation and dissemination of M. Luther's 95 theses , Berlin: de Gruyter 1933 (Greifswald studies on Luther research and modern intellectual history; 8).
• Legends about Luther , Berlin: de Gruyter 1933 (Greifswald studies on Luther research and modern intellectual history; 9)

literature

• D. Dr. Joh. Luther's life and work. Johannes Luther on his 70th birthday . 1931 (with portrait photo and list of publications)
• Ingrid Bigler: Luther, Johannes . In: German Literature Lexicon. Biographical-bibliographical manual , founded by Wilhelm Kosch, 3rd edition, tenth volume: Lucius – Myss , ed. by Heinz Rupp and Carl Ludwig Lang, Francke Verlag, Bern 1986, column 131
• Ernst Block: An outstanding scholar who was indebted to his name - Carl Martin Johannes Luther (1861 to 1954) (Part 87 of the series Important Altmark Personalities , in: Salzwedeler Volksstimme , Monday, October 25, 2004)
• Helga Döhn: The estate of Johannes Luther . ( Deutsche Staatsbibliothek series . Manuscript inventories , No. 6), Berlin 1984.
• Alexandra Habermann et al: Lexicon of German Scientific Librarians 1925–1980 , Frankfurt a. M .: Klostermann 1985, ISBN 3-465-01664-5 , p. 205.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Berthold Ohm and Alfred Philipp (eds.): Directory of addresses of the old men of the German Landsmannschaft. Part 1. Hamburg 1932, p. 355.

Web links

• Literature about Johannes Luther in the state bibliography MV