Alfred Philippson (1 January 1864 – 28 March 1953) was a German

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

and

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

. He was born at

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, son of

Ludwig Philippson Ludwig Philippson (28 December 1811 – 29 December 1889) was a German rabbi and author. Early life and education Ludwig Philippson was born in Dessau, the son of , a printer, writer, teacher, translator, publisher and a member of the Haskalah. H ...

. He received his education at the gymnasium and

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

of his native town and at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

(Ph.D. 1886). In 1892 he became '' Privatdozent'' at Bonn, was appointed

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree A docto ...

seven years later, and in 1904 he was called to Bern as professor of

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

. Having made voyages through

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

( Apulia region),

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, and

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, he published: ''Studien über Wasserscheiden,'' Berlin, 1886; ''Der Peloponnes,'' ib. 1892; ''Europa'' (with Neumann), Leipzig, 1894; ''Thessalien und Epirus,'' Berlin, 1897; ''Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Griechischen Inselwelt,'' Gotha, 1901; ''Das Mittelmeergebiet,'' Leipzig, 1904. He also published essays in the technical journals, such as ''Das fernste Italien. Geographische Reiseskizzen und Studien'', Leipzig, 1925, and ''Apulien'', Netherlands, 1937. Since 1887 Philippson undertook, on a commission from the Berlin

Akademie der Wissenschaften A German Akademie is a school or college, trade school or another educational institution. The word Akademie (unlike the words Gymnasium or Universität) is not protected by law and any school or college may choose to call itself Akademie. A Somm ...

, an annual journey to

for the purpose of geological investigation. His chief object in these excursions was to study, on a geological basis, the phenomena of the

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

's surface both in their interrelationship and in their influence on the human race. As a Jew, he lost his position under the Nazis. He tried without success to relocate to the US through his cousin

Ernst Alfred Philippson Ernst Alfred Philippson (6 April 1900 – 9 August 1993) was an American philologist who specialized in Germanic studies. Biography Ernst Alfred Philippson was born in Mönchengladbach, Germany on 6 April 1900 to a prominent Jewish family. He was ...

. During the war, he was sent to the

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination ca ...

(1942–45), where he wrote a memoir on his scholarly activity (''Wie ich zum Geographen wurde'', partly published in 1996). He survived the war in part thanks to the support of his friend, Sven Hedin, resuming work on his multi-volume essay on the Greek landscapes (with E. Kirsten; posthumously published and continued by Kirsten).

References

* *http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=270&letter=P

External links

Guide to the Alfred Philippson Collection
at the

Leo Baeck Institute, New York The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Philippson, Alfred 1864 births 1953 deaths Scientists from Bonn 19th-century German Jews 19th-century German geologists People from the Rhine Province University of Bonn alumni Academic staff of the University of Bonn Leipzig University alumni Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Gustav-Steinmann-Medaille winners 20th-century German geologists