Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz

Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz (born April 14, 1852 as David Berlizheimer in Mühringen ; † April 6, 1921 in New York City ) was an American language teacher of German origin and founder of the " Berlitz language schools ".

Life

As a descendant of a Jewish merchant family, David Berlizheimer grew up in Mühringen in the Kingdom of Württemberg . In 1870 he emigrated to the United States, where he named himself Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz . In 1872 he married Lillie Bertha Ehlert (* 1854) in Westerly, Rhode Island , who was the daughter of immigrants of German origin. The couple had two daughters: Bertha (* 1874) and Millicent (* 1882).

Berlitz initially worked in various professions, including as a private teacher for Latin and Greek. After a few years in Westerly, the family moved to Providence , where Berlitz taught Latin and Greek at high school from 1875, and later also at Warner's Polytechnic Business College. In 1877 he published his book The logic of Language . In 1878 he opened his own language school in Providence, which had 226 students in the year it was founded. The teaching method developed by Berlitz, which largely dispenses with grammar and translations and focuses on repeating and conversation, quickly became popular. Berlitz founded numerous other language schools in quick succession, not only in America but also in various European countries that he traveled to. In 1890 he gave English lessons personally to Kaiser Wilhelm II , and later also to the Russian Tsar Nicholas II for his meeting with Henry Ford . In 1900 Berlitz schools already had 30,000 students. Since the language schools were particularly successful in Europe, the administrative headquarters were relocated to Paris in 1907. Berlitz died of arteriosclerosis in the Bronx in 1921 and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. He bequeathed the language school to his grandson Charles Berlitz , who later became a successful writer. His company, now known as Berlitz International, Inc. , currently operates more than 500 language schools in 60 countries.

Web links

• The Berlitz language school about Maximilian Berlitz and his company
• The Berlitz story - the veiled Jewish origins of David Berlizheimer alias Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz

literature

• Adolf J. Schmid : "D." and the myth of the dolphins - Maximilian D. Berlitz = David Berlizheimer , in: " Schwäbische Heimat ", year 2001/1, p. 44 ff.