Joseph Meyer (9 May 1796 - 27 June 1856) was a

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 ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through pers ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, most noted for his encyclopaedia,

Meyers Konversations-Lexikon ' or ' was a major encyclopedia in the German language that existed in various editions, and by several titles, from 1839 to 1984, when it merged with the '. Joseph Meyer (1796–1856), who had founded the publishing house in 1826, intended ...

Biography

Meyer was born at

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

, Germany, and was educated as a merchant in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. He went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

in 1816, but returned to Germany in 1820 after business adventures and stock speculations fell through. Here he invested in enterprises such as the textile trade (1820–24). Soon after the first steam-hauled railway had started in December 1835, Meyer started to make business plans to start the first railways. He also bought some concessions for iron mining. In 1845 he founded the ''Deutsche Eisenbahnschienen-Compagnie auf Actien'' (German Railway Rail joint stock company). Meyer operated very successfully as a publisher, employing a system of serial subscription to publications, which was new at that time. To this end he founded a company,

Bibliographisches Institut The German publishing company was founded 1826 in Gotha by Joseph Meyer, moved 1828 to Hildburghausen and 1874 to Leipzig. Its production over the years includes such well-known titles as ' (encyclopaedias, since 1839, see '), ' (animal li ...

, in

in 1826. It published several editions of the Bible, works of classical literature ("Miniatur-Bibliothek der deutschen Classiker", "Groschen-Bibliothek"), the world in pictures on steel engravings ("Meyers Universum", 1833–61, 17 volumes in 12 languages with 80,000 subscribers all over Europe), and an encyclopaedia, ("das Grosse Conversations-Lexikon für die gebildeten Stände"; see

, 1839–55, 52 volumes). His company grew substantially, and in 1828 he moved it from Gotha to

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen ( IPA adapted from: ) is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra riv ...

, where he died thirty years later. He became involved in cartography, producing many atlases with steel-engraved maps printed from steel plates, including ''Meyer's Groẞer Hand-Atlas'' (1843-1860). In 1830, inspired by new of the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

in France, Meyer founded newspapers that promoted the liberal ideals of the revolutionaries. In 1848 he supported the

revolutions In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

that took place throughout Germany and much of Europe, and in 1849 was briefly imprisoned for his revolutionary activities. His publishing and other businesses prospered, and by 1910 his grandsons constituted the richest family in the Saxon territories, with more total wealth than the King of Saxony.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Joseph 1796 births 1856 deaths People from Gotha (town) People from Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg German encyclopedists German publishers (people) German male non-fiction writers