Constantin Wurzbach Ritter von Tannenberg (11 April 1818 – 17 August 1893) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

and author.

Biography

He was born in Laibach, Carniola (present-day

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

).He later went on to complete a course in philosophy and published poetry in local periodicals, inspired by the work of

Nikolaus Lenau Nikolaus Lenau was the pen name of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch Edler von Strehlenau (13 August 1802 – 22 August 1850), a German-language Austrian poet. Biography He was born at Csatád (Schadat), Kingdom of Hungary, now Lenauheim, Banat, then p ...

and

Anastasius Grün Count Anton Alexander von Auersperg, also known under the name Anastasius Grün (11 April 180612 September 1876), was an Austrian poet and liberal politician from Carniola, a former Habsburg crown land in today's Slovenia. Biography He was born ...

. At the request of his father, he began studying jurisprudence at Graz, which he, however, abandoned after two years. Instead, he joined the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

army and served in a Galician infantry regiment at Cracow from 1837. As a cadet, he continued to publish poems under the pseudonym ''W. Constant''. In 1841 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant (''

Unterleutnant Unterleutnant (NPA-original abbreviation ''Ultn.''; en: translation "Under-lieutenant" or "sub-lieutenant") was an officer of the armies of East Germany and other nations. The rank was first introduced in 1662-74 by France and was also adopted b ...

'') and transferred to Lemberg (

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

). At the same time, he studied philosophy at the Lemberg University and in 1843 became the first active officer in the Austrian army to obtain a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

. By the end of the year, Wurzbach left the army and took up an appointment at the Lemberg University library. In 1849 he was appointed librarian in the Ministry of the Interior at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and subsequently secretary in the Ministry of State. Wurzbach died in Berchtesgaden,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. He was the father of

Alfred von Wurzbach Alfred Wurzbach Ritter von Tannenberg (born 22 July 1846 in Lemberg; died 18 May 1915 in Vienna) was an Austrian art critic. Biography He was the son of Constantin von Wurzbach. He studied jurisprudence in Vienna and entered the civil service ...

, an art critic.

Works

He is best known for: * ''Bibliographisch-statistische Uebersicht der Litteratur des österreichischen Kaiserstaates'' (Bibliographic-statistical overview of the literature of the Austrian Empire, 1856) * ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaisertums Oesterreich'' (Biographical dictionary of the Austrian Empire; 60 vols., 1857–92) A unique publication on a gigantic scale, containing about 25,000 critical biographies of notable personages in every walk of life and from all parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. His other writings include: * ''Die Volkslieder der Polen und Ruthenen'' (Folk songs of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and the

Eastern Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert Hud ...

, 1846) * ''Die Sprichwörter der Polen'' (Proverbs of Poland, 1852) * ''Die Kirchen der Stadt Krakau'' (The churches of

Krakau Krakau is a municipality in the district of Murau in Styria, Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation ...

, 1853) * ''Joseph Haydn und sein Bruder Michael'' ( Joseph Haydn and his brother

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

, 1861) * ''Glimpf und Schimpf in Spruch und Wort'' (Tolerance and insult in maxim and word, 1864) * ''Historische Wörter, Sprichwörter und Redensarten'' (Historical words, proverbs and idioms, 1866) * ''

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vien ...

'' (1871) * ''Ein Madonnenmaler unserer Zeit: E. Steinle'' (A madonna painter of our times: E. Steinle, 1879) * ''Feldmarschall Erzherzog Karl'' (Fieldmarshal Archduke Karl, 1880)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wurzbach, Constantin von 1818 births 1893 deaths Austrian biographers Male biographers Austrian bibliographers Austrian knights 19th-century lexicographers Writers from Ljubljana University of Graz alumni