HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Eike Christian Hirsch (6 April 1937 – 7 August 2022) was a German journalist, author and television presenter. He was host of a talk show and author of a biography about
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...
. The main themes in his books were religion, humour and German language.


Biography

Hirsch was born in
Bilthoven Bilthoven is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt. It has a railway station with connections to Utrecht, Amersfoort and Baarn. It is home to the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health a ...
, Netherlands, on 6 April 1937 and grew up in
Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
. His playmates were the children of the family of
Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg () (5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist and one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics. He published his work in 1925 in a breakthrough paper. In the subsequent series ...
among others, and a classmate was a son of
Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 28 June 1912 – 28 April 2007) was a German physicist and philosopher. He was the longest-living member of the team which performed nuclear research in Germany during the Second World War, under ...
. Hirsch studied theology and philosophy in
Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
,
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, and finally in
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
with
Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...
. He graduated to Dr. theol. with a work on
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
, ''Höchstes Gut und Reich Gottes in Kants kritischen Hauptwerken als Beispiel für die Säkularisierung seiner Metaphysik'' (Highest good and Kingdom of God in Kant's main works as an example of the secularisation of his metaphysics). Up to 1996, he was an editor in sound broadcasting at the NDR and headed the "Religion and Society" department. He was later a freelance journalist. In the 1980s, he was the host of the talk show 3 nach 9. He wrote books on questions of faith and the German language. He also wrote a series of humorous word definitions, ''Deutsch für Besserwisser'' (German for know-it-alls), which were first published in ''
Stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
'' magazine, and later collected into book form. In 2000, Hirsch wrote his opus magnum ''Der berühmte Herr Leibniz'' (The famous Mr. Leibniz) about the German polymath
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...
, who had worked in
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. A reviewer from the FAZ noted that Hirsch avoided speculation, but provided facts in rich detail in chronological narration. Hirsch lived in Hanover. Hirsch was married to Doreen. Even in old age, he and his wife went to a fitness centre twice a week, and he relaxed with classical music such as
Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
's. Hirsch died in Hannover on 7 August 2022 of a severe illness, at the age of 85.


Awards

In 1986, Hirsch was awarded the
Kassel Literary Prize The Kassel Literary Prize for Grotesque Humor (''Kasseler Literaturpreis für grotesken Humor''), established 1985, is an annual prize awarded by the city of Kassel and the Brückner-Kühner foundation in recognition of "grotesque and comic work" ...
, for grotesque humour for his amusing interpretation (''Der Witzableiter oder die Schule des Lachens'', 1985). In 1992, he received the
Lower Saxony State Prize The Lower Saxony State Prize (german: Niedersächsischer Staatspreis, links=no) has been awarded by the State of Lower Saxony since 2002. From 1978 to 1999 it was called the Lower Saxony Prize (german: Niedersachsenpreis, links=no). The award is pr ...
(Niedersachsenpreis) for Journalism. In 2006, he received the donated by the Sparkasse Hannover.


Works

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
''Architektur als Heimat''
(in German) Lavesstiftung, award ceremony 28 February 2008 * Hirsch, Eike Christian
Händel unter Verdacht
(in German) in: ''Göttinger Händel-Beiträge'', vol 14,
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (V&R) is a scholarly publishing house based in Göttingen, Germany. It was founded in 1735 by (1700-1750) in connection with the establishment of the Georg-August-Universität in the same city. After Abraham Vandenhoec ...
, 2013, ISBN 978-3-64-727831-5
Publicist Eike Christian Hirsch died at the age of 85
(translation of HAZ obituary) germany.detailzero.com 8 August 2022 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsch, Eike Christian 1937 births 2022 deaths 20th-century German journalists 20th-century German male writers 21st-century German journalists 21st-century German male writers German journalists German male non-fiction writers People from De Bilt