Adolf Heinrich Strodtmann (24 March 1829, in

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

– 17 March 1879, in

Steglitz Steglitz () is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in Southwestern Berlin, the capital of Germany. is a Slavic name for the European goldfinch, similar to the German . Steglitz was also a borough from 1920 to 2000. It contained the ...

) was a German poet, journalist, translator and literary historian. He wrote an early biography of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

and emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for a time.

Biography

He had a peripatetic youth, learning the classics in four

gymnasiums A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

. Although this was not conducive to learning the

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, it had the benefit of showing him things from several points of view and taught him the

Danish language Danish (; , ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about six million people, principally in and around Denmark. Communities of Danish speakers are also found in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the northern German region of Southern Schles ...

well. In 1848 he participated, on the side of the Germans, in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...

. He was severely wounded and spent some time in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

harbor on the prison ship “Dronning Maria.” On being set at liberty, he published ''Lieder eines Gefangenen auf der Dronning Maria'' (Songs of a prisoner of the “Dronning Maria”, 1848). Strodtmann then became a student at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

where he especially became devoted to

Gottfried Kinkel Johann Gottfried Kinkel (11 August 1815 – 13 November 1882) was a German poet also noted for his revolutionary activities and his escape from a Prussian prison in Spandau with the help of his friend Carl Schurz. Early life He was born at Ober ...

; however, after a short time, he was suspended because of his political activities. He then published ''Lieder der Nacht'' (Songs of the Night, 1850) and a biography of Gottfried Kinkel (1850). He went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and in 1852, he sailed for

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and with help from his father, the not-very-practical ex-student entered the book trade in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, buying, selling and lending, as well as publishing a literary magazine called ''Die Locomotive''. The business was not successful and closed in 1854, after which he traveled around the country pursuing literary interests, eventually settling in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Weary of his various efforts to make a living, he returned to Germany in 1856, becoming a citizen of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. He covered the Franco-Prussian War for several newspapers, and in 1871, he moved to a suburb of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

where he lived for the rest of his life. The beginning of his writing career was mostly devoted to composing poetry, but as he became older and less revolutionary, he devoted more time to translation (into German) and literary history. He is most noticed as an early biographer of

and a compiler of his work. He published the correspondence of the poet

Bürger Bürger or Buerger is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Gottfried August Bürger, German poet * Heinrich Bürger, German physicist and biologist * Heinrich Otto Wilhelm Bürger, German zoologist * Karl-Heinz Bürger, German SS-O ...

. He translated three works from French, but mostly concentrated on Danish and English which he knew better. A noteworthy example of his translations from English is his ''Amerikanische Anthologie'' of 1870.

References

* * *

Carl Schurz Carl Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He immigrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent member of the new ...

. New York: The McClure Company. 1907. Schurz discusses his friend in Chapters IV, V and XII of Volume One. {{DEFAULTSORT:Strodtmann, Adolf German poets German biographers Male biographers University of Bonn alumni People of the Revolutions of 1848 German emigrants to the United States 1829 births 1879 deaths 19th-century German translators German male poets 19th-century poets 19th-century German writers 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers