Richard Wolfram (16 September 1901 – 30 May 1995) was an Austrian philologist who specialized in Germanic studies.

Biography

Richard Wolfram was born in

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

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

on 16 September 1901. His family was well educated and

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

. Since 1920, Wolfram studied

Germanistics The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

, Scandinavistics and

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

. He gained his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

at the University of Vienna in 1926 with a thesis on Ernst Moritz Arndt. Wolfram completed his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

in Germanic studies at the University of Vienna in 1934 under the supervision of

Rudolf Much Rudolf Much (7 September 1862 – 8 March 1936) was an Austrian philologist and historian who specialized in Germanic studies. Much was Professor and Chair of Germanic Linguistic History and Germanic Antiquity at the University of Vienna, du ...

. His thesis was on the comitatus in early Germanic society. Wolfram lectured at the University of Vienna since 1928, where he in 1939 was appointed an associate professor of Germanic studies. A member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

and the Ahnenerbe, Wolfram was dismissed from the University of Vienna after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He subsequently worked as a freelance scholar, but resumed lecturing at the University of Vienna in 1954, here he was reappointed an associate professor in 1959, and a full professor in 1963. Wolfram retired in 1972, after which he was elected a Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Wolfram was the recipient of a large number of prestigious awards, including the Knight 1st Class of the Order of Vasa (1930), Commander of the Order of the Polar Star (1970), and the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art, 1st Class (1977). He died in

Traismauer Traismauer is a municipality in the district of Sankt Pölten-Land in Lower Austria, Austria. It was established by the Romans, probably on a location of prior settlements. Some Roman buildings survive to this day. Population See also *Gemeinl ...

, Austria on 30 May 1995.

Selected works

* ''Schwerttanz und Männerbund'', 1936-1937 * ''Die Volkstänze in Österreich und verwandte Tänze in Europa'', 1972 * ''Brauchtum und Volksglaube in der Gottschee'', 1980 * ''Südtiroler Volksschauspiel und Spielbräuche'', 1987

Sources

* U. Kammerhofer-Aggermann: „In memoriam Richard Wolfram (1901-1995)“, in: ''Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien'', Vol 125/126, Wien 1995/96, pp. 317–318 * K. Köstlin: „Richard Wolfram 1901-1995“. In: ''Zeitschrift für Volkskunde''. No. 4. Wien 1995. pp. 480–483. 1901 births 1995 deaths Austrian non-fiction writers Austrian philologists Commanders of the Order of the Polar Star Germanists Germanic studies scholars Knights First Class of the Order of Vasa Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Old Norse studies scholars Scandinavian studies scholars University of Vienna alumni Academic staff of the University of Vienna 20th-century philologists {{Austria-linguist-stub