Christian Gotthilf Salzmann (1 June 1744 – 31 October 1811) was a German educational reformer and the founder of the

Schnepfenthal institution The Schnepfenthal Institution (Salzmannschule Schnepfenthal) is a boarding school in the district of Gotha, Germany, founded in 1784. In addition to compulsory education in English and German, students in 6th grade choose from Arabic, Chinese an ...

Life and career

Salzmann was born on 1 June 1744 near

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

. His father was a Protestant minister, and Salzmann himself trained to become a pastor. Salzmann wrote ''Bibliothek für Jünglinge und Mädchen'', giving instructions on how to teach religion to children, but it was widely rejected by his superiors. Because of this rejection, he accepted a position at Basedow's Philanthropinum. From there, he continued to write papers about education reform, including his ''Moralische Elementarbuch'' in 1783. In 1785, Salzmann opened his own school, the

, which taught his new brand of practical education. While teaching at the school, he continued to publish works and even issued the periodical ''Der Bote aus Thüringen''. He died on 31 October 1811.

Connections to Mary Wollstonecraft

Salzmann's work reached the British public as ''Elements of Morality for the Use of Children'' (1790-91), under the auspices of the liberal publisher

Joseph Johnson Joseph Johnson may refer to: Entertainment *Joseph McMillan Johnson (1912–1990), American film art director *Smokey Johnson (1936–2015), New Orleans jazz musician * N.O. Joe (Joseph Johnson, born 1975), American musician, producer and songwrit ...

. This was written by

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationsh ...

, who began the work as a translation, but "made the stories English, and added and altered where necessary", according to

Janet Todd Janet Margaret Todd OBE (born 10 September 1942) is a British academic and author. She was educated at Cambridge University and the University of Florida, where she undertook a doctorate on the poet John Clare. Much of her work concerns Mary ...

. This translation found a wider readership with a two-part essay in Johnson's ''

Analytical Review The ''Analytical Review'' was an English periodical that was published from 1788 to 1798, having been established in London by the publisher Joseph Johnson and the writer Thomas Christie. Part of the Republic of Letters, it was a gadfly publicat ...

''. Salzmann's work was further adapted in 1872, when

Charlotte Mary Yonge Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823–1901) was an English novelist, who wrote in the service of the church. Her abundant books helped to spread the influence of the Oxford Movement and show her keen interest in matters of public health and sanitation. ...

edited a ''Storehouse of Stories''. According to

Henry Crabb Robinson Henry Crabb Robinson (13 May 1775 – 5 February 1867) was an English lawyer, remembered as a diarist. He took part in founding London University. Life Robinson was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, third and youngest son of Henry Robinson (17 ...

, Salzmann and Wollstonecraft were in correspondence with each other. Salzmann returned her interest by publishing her ''

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman ''A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects'' (1792), written by British philosopher and women's rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797), is one of the earliest works of feminist philosoph ...

'', in German in 1793. The main translation of her ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

'' was performed by one of the teachers at his school, Georg Friedrich Christian Weissenborn, but Salzmann employed the author's licence to make what Robinson called "edifying improvements". Salzmann also published a German version of ''

Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman ''Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman'' (1798) is William Godwin's biography of his late wife Mary Wollstonecraft. Rarely published in the nineteenth century and sparingly even today, ''Memoirs'' is most often viewed ...

'', written by her widower,

William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for ...

and again translated by Salzmann's employee Weissenborn. In the prefaces to both these works, he expresses sympathy for her ideas and her life.

Connections to Freemasons and Illuminati

While it is not known whether Salzmann himself was a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

or the

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...

, his school was supported and funded by members of both groups.

Selected works

* ''Moralische Elementarbuch'' (1783) * ''Bibliothek für Jünglinge und Mädchen'' * ''Moralischen Erzählungen zur Bildung des Herzens für Knaben und Mädchen'' * ''Gymnastics for Youth'' * ''Rettung der Rechte des Weibes mit Bemerkungen ueber Politische und Moralische Gegenstande von Maria Wollstonecroft'' (1793) (German translation of ''

'')

References

1744 births 1811 deaths Heads of schools in Germany German educational theorists {{Germany-academic-bio-stub