Christian Adolph Overbeck (21 August 1755 in
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...
– 9 March 1821 in Lübeck) was a German poet, and the
Burgomaster
Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chie ...
of Lübeck.
Life
Family
Overbeck was the son of the lawyer, Georg Christian Overbeck (1713-1786) and his wife Eleonora Maria
Jauch (1732-1797), and also grandson of the superintendent Caspar Nikolaus Overbeck (1670-1752). He was the nephew of the rector of the
Katharineum
The Katharineum zu Lübeck is a humanistic gymnasium founded 1531 in the Hanseatic city Lübeck, Germany. In 2006 the 475th anniversary of this Latin school was celebrated with several events. The school uses the buildings of a former Francisca ...
,
Johann Daniel Overbeck (1715-1802). The painter,
Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869), and the jurist,
Christian Gerhard Overbeck (1784-1846) were his sons. His grandson was the archeologist
Johannes Adolph Overbeck (1826-1895). In 1781 Overbeck married Elisabeth Lang (1753–1820), whose family was originally from
Nürtingen
Nürtingen () is a town on the river Neckar in the district of Esslingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.
History
The following events occurred, by year:
*1046: First mention of ''Niuritingin'' in the document of Speyer ...
and shared ancestors with
Friedrich Hölderlin
Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...
and
Ludwig Uhland
Johann Ludwig Uhland (26 April 1787 – 13 November 1862) was a German poet, philologist and literary historian.
Biography
He was born in Tübingen, Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, but also took an interest in ...
.
Education
He studied at the Katharineum of Lübeck, of which the rector was his uncle Johann Daniel Overbeck (1715-1802), and then from 1773 to 1776 studied law at the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
, meanwhile attending lectures on philosophical, mathematical, scientific and historical subjects. Overbeck had many friends in the
Göttinger Hainbund
The ''Göttinger Hainbund'' ("Grove League of Göttingen") was a German literary group in the late 18th century, nature-loving and classified as part of the ''Sturm und Drang'' movement.
Origin and description
It was by means of a midnight ritual ...
, but was never a member. In 1788 he acquired his doctorate and from then on prefixed his name with "Dr.iur.utr."
Professional career
Overbeck's career began with a failed attempt in 1776 to found a school, the ''Erziehungsanstalt für Knaben'', in
Bremen, after the example of
Joachim Heinrich Campe
Joachim Heinrich Campe (29 June 1746 – 22 October 1818) was a German writer, linguist, educator and publisher. He was a major representative of philanthropinism and the German Enlightenment.
Life
Born to the merchant Burchard Hilmar Campe and ...
s. In the same year he began his legal career as a barrister in Lübeck, and in 1779 he was appointed Supreme Court procurator. In 1792 he became assistant general counsel of the cathedral chapter of Lübeck. In 1800 this was followed by his appointment to the
Senate of Lübeck. In 1804 he was a representative of Lübeck in
St Petersburg, and in 1808-9, 1810 and 1811 a representative of Lübeck in Paris, when he attended the wedding of
Napoleon I of France with
Marie-Louise of Austria
Marie Louise (12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was an Austrian archduchess who reigned as Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress of the French and Queen of Italy from their ...
. During Lübeck's occupation by France he filled the office of ''Receveur de la caisse communale''. In 1814 he finally became Burgomaster of Lübeck.
Other responsibilities
On 16 October 1776 Overbeck joined the Freemasons' lodge ''Zum goldenen Zirkel'' in Göttingen and on 31 March 1777 became a member of the Lübeck lodge ''Zum Füllhorn'', where from 1791-1797 he served as chairman five times. In 1779 he became ''Mitstifter'' at another Lübeck lodge, ''Zur Weltkugel''. He was an
Illuminatus under the name ''Anacreon''. In 1789 he helped to establish the ''
Gesellschaft zur Beförderung gemeinnütziger Tätigkeit
The ("Society for the Furtherance of Charitable Activities") is Lübeck's oldest charitable organization.
History
It was the preacher at St. Peter's Church, Lübeck (and later lawyer) Ludwig Suhl (1752–1819) and his friends Christian Adolph ...
'', and in 1791 and 1794-97 he was its director. He was also a
praeses
''Praeses'' (Latin ''praesides'') is a Latin word meaning "placed before" or "at the head". In antiquity, notably under the Roman Dominate, it was used to refer to Roman governors; it continues to see some use for various modern positions.
...
for the Bible Society.
Significance
Overbeck utilised his diplomatic skills during the French occupation of Lübeck, and his skills as a jurist during the reorganisation of the city's constitution and finances after the years of war. He distinguished himself by his enlightened attitude to reform in the areas of school, church and poor relief. In addition, he showed artistic talent as a composer and songwriter. He had a gift for languages, demonstrated in translations of Greek and Latin odes, French drama and English travel literature.
Quotations
* "This great
Hanseat
The (, ''Hanseatics'') is a collective term for the hierarchy group (so called ''First Families'') consisting of elite individuals and families of prestigious rank who constituted the ruling class of the free imperial city of Hamburg, conjoint ...
, who during the French occupation of Lübeck defended its interests so ably in Paris and thus contributed so much to the wellbeing and prosperity of his native city, is a shining example of the kind of responsible model citizen in the latter half of the 18th century to which the Hanseatic myth owes so much."
* "The model of a gentleman."
[J. Beavington Atkinson:''Overbeck'', London 1882, S. 5]
Notes
Works
* 1781 ''Fritzchens Lieder'' ("Little Fritz's Songs"), including "''Komm, lieber Mai, und mache die Bäume wieder grün''" ("Come, dear May, and make the trees green once more"), set by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
* 1781 ''Lieder und Gesänge mit Klaviermelodien'' ("Songs with piano accompaniment")
* 1785 ''
Salve Regina
The "Salve Regina" (, ; meaning 'Hail Queen'), also known as the "Hail Holy Queen", is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons within the Christian liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. The Salve Regina ...
'' and ''
Stabat Mater'', piano transcriptions from
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, with German words
* 1794 ''Vermischte Gedichte'' ("Miscellaneous poems")
* 1800 ''Anakreon und Sappho'' ("Anacreon and Sappho")
* 1803 ''Leben Herrn Johann Daniel Overbecks, weyland Doctors der Theologie und Rectors des Lübeckischen Gymnasiums. Von einem nahen Verwandten, und vormaligen Schüler des Verewigten.'' Anonymously published biography of his uncle.
* Unpublished translations of ''El Cid'' and ''Cinna'' by
Pierre Corneille
* Unpublished translations of ''Athalie'', ''Bajazet'', ''Berenice'' and ''Britannicus'' by
Jean Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...
Portraits
* Overbeck, Friedrich: pencil drawing, 1806, Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett und Sammlung der Zeichnungen
* Overbeck, Friedrich: charcoal, before 1806, Lübeck, Museen für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte
* Suhrland, R.: oil painting, Luchmann, in: Biographisches Lexikon Schleswig Holstein X, 1994, S.281ff
Bibliography
*
*
* Biographisches Lexikon Schleswig-Holstein X, S.281
*
Emil Ferdinand Fehling: ''Lübeckische Ratslinie'', Lübeck 1925, Nr. 949.
* Overbeck, Christian Gerhard: ''Zur Erinnerung an Christian Adolph Overbeck, beider Rechte Doctor und Bürgermeister zu Lübeck'', Lübeck 1830
* Jansen, H.: ''Aus dem Göttinger Hainbund, Overbeck und Sprickmann, Ungedruckte Briefe Overbecks'', 1933
* Gaedertz, Karl Theodor: ''Was ich am Wege fand. Neue Folge. Die beiden Overbeck'', Leipzig 1905
* Luchmann, Fritz (Hg.): ''Beieinanderseyn ist das tägliche Brot. Briefe C.A. Overbecks an seine Familie aus St.Petersburg 1804 und aus Paris 1807 - 1811.'', Lübeck 1992
* Sellheim, Isabel: ''Die Familie des Malers Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869) in genealogischen Übersichten'', Deutsches Familienarchiv Band 104, Neustadt an der Aisch 1989, , GW
External links
*
Sheet music for „Komm, lieber Mai und mache“Openlibrary - Online Volltextversion: „Overbeck“by J. Beavington Atkinson, London 1882
{{DEFAULTSORT:Overbeck, Christian Adolph
1755 births
1821 deaths
German poets
German male poets
Mayors of Lübeck