Johannes Vahlen (27 September 1830 in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

– 30 November 1911 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

) was a German classical

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

. He was the father of

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

Theodor Vahlen Karl Theodor Vahlen (30 June 1869 – 16 November 1945) was an Austrian-born mathematician and professor who was a member of the Nazi Party. He served as the first ''Gauleiter'' of Pomerania and was a member of both the SA and SS. Early ye ...

(1869–1945). In 1852 he graduated at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

, where he studied

classical philology Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. In 1856 he became an associate professor at the

University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, and in 1858 a full professor at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

. Shortly afterwards, he relocated to

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 in 1862 became a member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences.Thibaut – Zycha, Volume 10
by K. G. Saur Verlag GmbH & Company, Walter De Gruyter Incorporated From 1874 onward, he taught classes as a professor of classical philology at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

. He was a member of the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin ...

. Vahlen was a specialist of Greek and Latin literature, publishing works on a wide array of ancient authors that included

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabria ...

, Horace,

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

and Gnaeus Naevius. He is particularly known for his interpretive work involving the '' Poetics'' of Aristotle and the fragmentary relics of the poet Ennius; ''Ennianae poesis reliquiae''. In 1913 Vahlen's library of over 10,000 volumes of ancient and classical works were acquired by the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

Selected publications

* ''Ennianae poesis reliquiae'', (edition, 1854). * ''Naevii de bello punico reliquiae'', (edition 1854). * ''Laurentii Vallae opuscula tria'' (1864). * ''Beiträge zu Aristoteles' Poetik''; numerous editions published between 1865 and 1965 in German. *

: ''De arte poetica liber''; numerous editions published between 1867 and 1964. *

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

: ''De legibus'' (1871). * ''Opuscula academica'' (1908).WorldCat Identities
published works

References

* ''Parts of this article are based on a translation of an equivalent article at the German Wikipedia''.
University of Illinois-Champaign Archives

External links

*
German Wikisource
bibliography of Vahlen. German philologists 1830 births 1911 deaths Academic staff of the University of Vienna Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Academic staff of the University of Breslau Academic staff of the University of Freiburg University of Bonn alumni Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) {{Germany-academic-bio-stub