Ludwig Dressel
Ludwig Dressel (born July 3, 1840 in Waldburg (Württemberg) ; † May 17, 1918 in Valkenburg aan de Geul , Netherlands) was a German Jesuit , well-known scientist and confidante of the Ecuadorian President García Moreno .
Live and act
Ludwig Dressel was born the son of a chimney sweep in Waldburg, Württemberg. The father was also a winemaker and owner of the "Zum Waldhorn" wine tavern. In Ravensburg , the boy attended secondary and Latin school.
On September 28, 1856, Ludwig Dressel zu Gorheim entered the novitiate of the Jesuit order. He completed the second novitiate year in Munster , which was followed by a two-year training in rhetoric under the well-known Father Adolf von Doß and a two-year course in philosophy in Aachen. From 1862 to 1864 Ludwig Dressel studied natural sciences at the University of Bonn, where he trained in chemistry and geology. From 1864 the Jesuit completed his third year of philosophy in Maria Laach and taught chemistry there from 1865. During this time he wrote an award-winning treatise on May 19, 1866 by the Dutch Society of Sciences in Haarlem with the title: "The basalt formation in its individual circumstances explained". It was also the first of many publications by Father Dressel in print. From 1868 Ludwig Dressel studied theology and was ordained a priest on May 30, 1871 by Trier Bishop Matthias Eberhard .
In 1871, the Ecuadorian President García Moreno asked Jesuits to lead his newly founded Polytechnic in Quito (today: Escuela Politécnica Nacional ). The order general Pierre Jean Beckx sent Father Ludwig Dressel there. An official website of the tourism ministry of Ecuador quotes the text from a travel guide for the country by Volker Feser:
“ Under the presidency of García Moreno, the Politécnica was founded in Quito in 1870, a high school for surveyors, architects, engineers, astronomers and natural scientists. The administration of the first Ecuadorian academy of this kind was handed over to the young German Jesuit fathers Hans Menten and Ludwig Dressel . In addition to the Italian Jesuit Luis Sodiro, the professors also included the chemist and geologist Theodor Wolf . His studies of the Galapagos, Esmeraldas, Loja, etc. Azuay, as well as his works “Geographía y Geología del Ecuador” and “Crónica de los fenómenos volcánicos y terremotos” made him <meant: Theodor Wolf, the author of the works mentioned>, according to Humboldt, one of the most important natural scientists in the country. Other teachers at the polytechnical academy were the mathematicians Emil Müllendorf, Armando Wenzel, Josef Epping, Albert Claessen, the chemist Ludwig Heiss, the zoologist Christian Bötzkes and the Prussian army chaplain Eduardo Brugier. With the fall of García Moreno, the Politécnica closed its doors in 1875. It was only to be inaugurated again 60 years later by Velasco Ibarra, also with the participation of German professors. Their pioneering importance for the Ecuadorian science of the end of the 19th and 20th centuries. beginning of the 20th century The academy owed these “alemanes politécnicos” not least. On the basis of her diverse publications and lectures, the equatorial country name has become an epitome for European naturalists. "
Father Ludwig Dressel learned the Spanish language intensively and he liked the state president so much that he chose him as his personal confessor, advisor and soul guide. After the assassination of President Garcia Moreno on August 6, 1875, the Jesuits had to leave Ecuador and Dressel returned to Europe.
In Ditton Hall near Liverpool he made the perpetual vows of the Order on the Assumption of Mary in 1878. After that, Father Dressel taught chemistry for seven years at the Jesuit College in Blyenbeck and in 1885 went when the institution was relocated to Exaten near Roermond . Here, too, he initially taught chemistry, but then switched to physics on the orders of the superiors. From 1894 the priest worked as a physics teacher in Valkenburg aan de Geul . Ludwig Dressel developed a profound activity in both sciences, which was reflected in numerous specialist publications. In addition to the text “The animate and inanimate substance” (1885), the standard work “Elementary textbook of physics according to the latest views”, which appeared for the first time in 1895, achieved four editions and was widely recognized by the experts at the time, was best known.
1902/1903 Ludwig Dressel gave various scientific lectures in Germany, from autumn 1904 he worked at the observatory near Tortosa on the Ebro , from 1906 onwards as a spiritual director for the theologians in Valkenburg in Holland. While on vacation in Aalbeek , he suffered a stroke on August 1, 1910, which led to permanent paralysis and partial loss of speech; he could only read in fragments. Nevertheless, the scientist made himself useful in the community through the simplest of work. His obituary states that he stuck postage stamps on mail or helped wash dishes in the kitchen. Severely disabled, he was still able to celebrate his 60th anniversary in 1916 and died in 1918 after he had become a nursing case.
In addition to his scientific writings, Father Dressel repeatedly published smaller articles in the Jesuit magazine “Voices from Maria Laach”. There he brought u. a. in Volume 35, 1888, several accounts of his personal experiences with President Garcia Moreno.
According to the preface, Dressel supported the well-known chemist, Professor Karl Gustav Bischof , in the publication of his work "Textbook of chemical and physical geology" in 1863.
Works
- The basalt formation explained in its individual circumstances. 1866
- Geognostic-geological sketch of the Laacher volcanic area. Aschendorff Verlag 1871
- Animate and inanimate matter according to the latest research results. Herder Verlag, Freiburg 1883
- Elementary textbook of physics; according to the latest ideas for higher schools and for self-teaching. Herder Verlag, Freiburg 1895, 1900, 1905 and 1913
- The volcanic eruptions in the Antilles with a view of the volcanoes in South America and the volcanoes in general. Frankfurt brochures, 1903
literature
- The great herder. Volume 3, 1932 (encyclopedia entry with life data)
- Jesuit order: messages from the German province. Volume 8, Altötting 1920, pages 73–79, obituary, written by Father Franz Zorell SJ
- Rudolf Eisler: Philosophers Lexicon. Berlin 1912, p. 135 ( digitized version )
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Adolf von Doß in the Lexicon of Westphalian Authors
- ↑ Complete scan of Father Dressel's “Basalt formation explained in its individual circumstances”, 1866
- ^ Ecuadorian tourism site with the mention of Father Ludwig Dressel
- ↑ Mention of Ludwig Dressel in Bischof's "Textbook of Chemical and Physical Geology", 1863.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dressel, Ludwig |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Jesuit priest, scientist, specialist author, confidante of the President of Ecuador |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 3, 1840 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Waldburg (Württemberg) |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 17, 1918 |
| Place of death | Valkenburg aan de Geul |