Hammer-Purgstall, Joseph, Freiherr von |
| ORIENTALIST, DIPLOMAT (AUSTRIA) |
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BORN 9 Jun 1774, Graz, Steiermark - DIED 23 Nov 1856, Wien GRAVE LOCATION Klosterneuburg, Niederösterreich: Friedhof Weidling, Lenaugasse 16-30 (Gruppe M, Nummer 556) |
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Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall was the son of the Austrian governor Joseph von Hammer (1738-1818). He attended the Orientalische Akademie in Vienna. After his studies there were no training places available in Constantinople and he worked on manuscripts in the Court Library instead. The Swiss historian Johannes von Müller was his mentor at that time. In 1799 he applied for a position in the Orient with Foreign Minister Johann Thugut and he succeeded. He worked in Constantinople and in Egypt, where he served William Sidney Smith. In 1801 he followed Smith to England and he visited Oxford and Cambridge. In 1802 he returned to Vienna. He worked for the state chancellery, where he was appointed court interpreter for oriental languages in 1811. Around 1810 he had an affair with Helmina von Chézy and he may have been the father of her son Leopold, who was born in 1811 and died in the same year. He corresponded with her afterwards. In 1816 he married Caroline von Henikstein, a daughter of the banker Josef von Henikstein. They had five children. In 1817 he became a court councillor. He published on Islamic culture and his writing inspired Goethe to write his "Westöstliche Diwan". His main work was "Geschichte des Osmanischen Reiches" (10 volumes, 1827-1833). From 1835 he tried to establish an Academy of Sciences in Vienna. It was established in 1847 he was its first president until 1849. In his later years he wrote extensive memoirs. Related persons • corresponded with Champollion, Jean François • had a love affair with Chézy, Helmina von • inspired Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von • corresponded with Grotefend, Georg Friedrich |
| Images |
 The grave of Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall at Friedhof Weidling in Klosterneuburg, Niederösterreich. Picture by Androom (04 Sep 2022) |
Sources • Baedeker, K., Baedeker's Oesterreich-Ungarn, Verlag von Karl Baedeker, Leipzig, 1890 • Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall - Wikipedia (DE) |
