Ernst Immanuel Cohen Brandes (1 February 1844 – 6 August 1892) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

economist, writer, and newspaper editor best known for editing the ''Kjøbenhavns Børs-Tidende'', which published articles written by leading Danish men of letters, including future

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner

Henrik Pontoppidan Henrik Pontoppidan (24 July 1857 – 21 August 1943) was a Danish realist writer who shared with Karl Gjellerup the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1917 for "his authentic descriptions of present-day life in Denmark." Pontoppidan's novels and shor ...

, during a period later hailed as the

Modern Breakthrough The Modern Breakthrough ( no, Det moderne gjennombrudd, da, Det moderne gennembrud, sv, Det moderna genombrottet) is the common name of the strong movement of naturalism and debating literature of Scandinavia which replaced romanticism near the ...

Danish literature Danish literature () a subset of Scandinavian literature, stretches back to the Middle Ages. The earliest preserved texts from Denmark are runic inscriptions on memorial stones and other objects, some of which contain short poems in alliterative ...

. Outraged by his politicized blasphemy conviction for an article anonymously written by Pontoppidan for the ''Kjøbenhavns Børs-Tidende'' in 1889, Brandes committed suicide in 1892.

Biography

Ernst Brandes was born to a

Danish Jewish The history of the Jews in Denmark goes back to the 1600s. At present, the Jewish community of Denmark constitutes a small minority of about 6,000 persons within Danish society. The community's population peaked prior to the Holocaust at whi ...

family in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

on 1 February 1844, some two years after his elder brother

Georg Brandes Georg Morris Cohen Brandes (4 February 1842 – 19 February 1927) was a Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind ...

and three years before the youngest,

Edvard Edvard is a form of Edward and may refer to: * Edvard Askeland (born 1954), Norwegian jazz musician * Edvard Befring (born 1936), Norwegian educationalist * Edvard Beneš (1884–1948), Czech politician * Edvard Christian Danielsen (1888–1964), ...

. Trained as an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

, Brandes spent much of the energies of his brief life on economic and social questions. The chief objects of Brandes' attack in his 1885 ''Samfundssporgsmaal'' were the population theories of

Thomas Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book ''An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Mal ...

and theory of value advanced by

David Ricardo David Ricardo (18 April 1772 – 11 September 1823) was a British political economist. He was one of the most influential of the classical economists along with Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith and James Mill. Ricardo was also a politician, and a ...

.Olesen, Finn (2001)
"Ernst Brandes: ''Samfundsspørgsmaal'' - en kritik af Malthus og Ricardo".
Working Papers 27/01, University of Southern Denmark, Department of Environmental and Business Economics. Retrieved 10 June 2010. Though prominent as a

social liberal Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

, Brandes reserved part of ''Samfundssporgsmaal'' for a critique of the Marxist movement.Jørgensen, Johannes (1928)
''An Autobiography''.
Trans. Ingeborg Lund. London: Sheed & Ward. pp. 142-126. Brandes came to write for the ''

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...

'', which Edvard had helped to found in 1884, before editing his own newspaper, the ''Kjøbenhavns Børs-Tidende'', in 1889 - an idiosyncratic undertaking meant to combine stock price lists and radical literature.Kærgård, Niels (1995). "Cooperation, Not Opposition: Denmark". In Ian Steedman (Ed.), ''Socialism and Marginalism in Economics: 1870-1930'' (pp. 87-101). London: Routledge. , . Successful in his efforts to attract a wide range of talented writers, Brandes published the literary efforts and social commentary of such authors as

Johannes Jørgensen Jens Johannes Jørgensen (6 November 1866, in Svendborg – 29 May 1956) was a Danish writer, best known for his biographies of Catholic saints. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Early days Johannes Jørgensen was ...

, Sophus Claussen, and Viggo Stuckenberg.Bredsdorff, Elias (1974)
"Da Henrik Pontoppidan Blev Strøget På Finansloven".
''Fund og Forskning'', Vol. 21. pp. 138-164
Tidskrifft.dk.
Retrieved 7 June 2010. Having met

through Edvard, Brandes encouraged the outstanding Danish writer to join. Pontoppidan, who later recalled Brandes saying that Brandes' idea for the ''Kjøbenhavns Børs-Tidende'' was to create a modern, entertaining opposition paper capable of challenging the established conservative press in the Danish capital, agreed to collaborate and joined the ''Børs-Tidende'' on 30 July 1889. His ideas were anonymously published in a regular column written under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Urbanus". Brandes' 1889 publication of "Messias" and 1890 publication "Den gamle Adam" - two pieces penned by Pontoppidan under his pseudonym - triggered a scandalous reaction. "Den gamle Adam" was a light-hearted version of the Biblical story of

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

inspired by an old

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

folk retelling; "Messias" was Pontoppidan's review of a book by Viggo Stuckenberg. Indicted on blasphemy charges for both pieces in December 1890, Brandes was made to answer for each as distinct offenses against the blasphemy laws before a

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

. He was acquitted for "Den gamle Adam" but ordered to serve two months for the publication of the "Messias" article. Pontoppidan, who was not charged, admitted himself as the author of the two articles when the matter was brought to trial, but faced no penalty despite his admission and had offered to claim legal responsibility in Brandes' place. The defense argued that Brandes was being singled out as a prominent Brandes brother and a person of Jewish background. The controversial case finally made its way to the

Danish Supreme Court The Supreme Court (, lit. ''Highest Court'', , ) is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom of Denmark. It is based at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen which also houses the Danish ...

, which again acquitted Brandes for the Adam article but upheld the conviction for "Messias" while softening the earlier sentence of two months' imprisonment to a fine of 300 kroner in December 1891.Schovsbo, Henrik (May 1998)
"Henrik Pontoppidan - borgerlig anarkist og folkelig forfatter".
''Bogens Verden''. Retrieved 10 June 2010. Despondent for months afterward, he committed suicide by taking poison''The Speaker'', Volume 6, August 20, 1892
/ref> in Copenhagen on 6 August 1892.

References

External links

1886 lecture by Ernst Brandes on Henry George

Entry on Brandes at JewishEncyclopedia.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandes, Ernst Immanuel Cohen 1844 births 1892 deaths Danish economists Danish Jews 19th-century Danish journalists 19th-century Danish newspaper editors 19th-century Danish non-fiction writers 20th-century Danish non-fiction writers People convicted of blasphemy People from Copenhagen Suicides in Denmark Male journalists 19th-century male writers Politiken people 1890s suicides Suicides by poison