Bechstein, Ludwig |
| AUTHOR, LIBRARIAN (GERMANY) |
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BORN 4 Nov 1801, Weimar, Thüringen - DIED 14 May 1860, Meiningen, Thüringen GRAVE LOCATION Meiningen, Thüringen: Parkfriedhof, Am Steinernen Berg |
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Ludwig Bechstein was the son of Johanna Carolina Dorothea Bechstein and a French immigrant named Louis Dupontreau. His father disappeared before his birth and he grew up in poor circumstances until he was adopted by his uncle, the scientist Johann Mathtäus Bechstein (1757-1822). He was educated in Meiningen and worked as an assistant to an apothecary in Arnstadt and Meiningen. Duke Bernard II of Meiningen granted him a stipendium to study philosophy, literature and history. He started his studies in 1829 in Leipzig and continued them in 1830 in Munich. In 1831 he was employed as a librarian in Meiningen. In 1832 he married Caroline Wiskemann (b.1808) who came from Dresden. They had a son, Reinhold, who became a philologist. Caroline died after two years of marriage and in 1836 he married Therese Schulz, who bore him seven children. From 1834 onwards he published the "Chronik der Stadt Meiningen". He became a Hofrat (adviser to the duke) in 1840. In 1848 he became the archivarian of the Gemeinschaftliche Hennebergische Archiv. He wrote poems and stories that are mostly forgotten, but he is remembered for the collections of fairytales that he published. In 1845 "Deutsches Märchenbuch" was published and in 1853 "Deutsches Sagenbuch" followed. He died in 1860 in Meiningen. |
| Images |
 The grave of Ludwig Bechstein at the Parkfriedhof, Meiningen. Picture by Androom (30 Aug 2013) |
Sources • Ludwig Bechstein – Wikipedia |
