Mendelssohn, Georg Benjamin |
| GEOGRAPHER, AUTHOR (GERMANY) |
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BORN 15 Nov 1794, Berlin - DIED 24 Aug 1874, Koblenz, Rheinland-Pfalz: Horchheim GRAVE LOCATION Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen: Alter Friedhof |
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Georg Benjamin Mendelssohn was the son of the banker Joseph Mendelssohn (1770-1848) and his wife Henriette Meyer (1776-1862). He was educated at home and at the gymnasium in Hamburg. He studied medicin, geology and mineralogy at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Berlin. In 1813 he volunteered for the army in the war against Napoleon. He served as an officer at Blücher's headquarters until October 1815. After the war he continued his studies. He converted to the protestant faith in 1821 and in the same year he followed his friend August Twesten to the University of Kiel. There he was promoted in 1828. On 20 June 1827 he married Rosamunde Richter (1804-1883), the illegitimate daughter of the diplomat Count Christian Haugwitz and Rosa Richter. They adopted Betzy Thormann (1830-1906). Mendelssohn was was habilitated in Bonn for geography. His work as a university teacher met with little success, but his book "Das germanische Europa. Zur geschichtlichen Erdkunde" (1836) was influential. In 1835 he became an associate professor at the University of Bonn and in 1847 he was appointed professor for geography and statistics. Both appointments were made by the Minister of Education against the wish of the relevant university committees. In 1857 he left the university permanently because of health reasons. He died in 1874 in Koblenz and was buried at the Alter Friedhof in Bonn. Family • Father: Mendelssohn, Joseph • Brother: Mendelssohn, Alexander |
| Images |
 The grave of Georg Benjamin Mendelssohn at the Alter Friedhof, Bonn. Picture by Androom (17 Jun 2012) |
