William Render ( fl. 1800), grammarian and

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

, was a native of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He was a fellow student at

Giessen University University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

with a brother of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

( Werther's inamorata), and was well acquainted with Werther himself. In an appendix to his English version of

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

's romance, Render relates a conversation he had with Werther at Frankfort-on-the-Main a few days before the latter's suicide. Render was ordained to the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

ministry. Subsequently he acted as 'traveling guardian to the son of a distinguished personage'. He then traveled in western Germany with 'several English gentlemen', one of whom may have been

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

, afterwards the Marquis Hastings, to whom, as Earl of Moira, he dedicated his ''Tour through Germany''. Render came to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

about 1790, and settled in

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 majo ...

. He taught German and other languages 'in several families of distinction.' Towards the end of the century he also became 'teacher of German' at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. In 1798 he published an English version of

Kotzebue Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the County seat, borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska en ...

's play ''Count Benyowsky'', which reached a second edition within the year. In 1800, Render further translated ''

The Robbers ''The Robbers'' (', ) is the first drama by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim, Germany, and was inspired by Leisewitz' earlier play ''Julius of Taranto''. It wa ...

'', ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...

'', '' Maria Stuart'', and ''The Armenian'' of

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...

. In the following year appeared his version of '' The Sorrows of Werther'', the first translation into English made direct from the original German. In the preface he speaks of 'his friend the baron Goethe', whom he may have met at

Frankfurt 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 ...

. Render's ''Tour through Germany, particularly along the Banks of the Rhine, Mayne'', also appeared in 1801. A vocabulary of familiar phrases in German and English is annexed for the benefit of travelers. The remainder of Render's publications were educational manuals. The chief of these, ''A concise Practical Grammar of the German Tongue'' (1799), was very successful. A fifth edition, corrected and augmented with improvements made by the Berlin Academy, was issued in 1817. As a token of his appreciation of the work,

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...

ordered Woronzow, his ambassador in England, to present Render with a ring and an autograph letter. Render also published German ''Exercises'', a ''Pocket Dictionary'' in English and German, and other manuals of instruction in German.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Render, William German translators German emigrants to England 18th-century German writers 18th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers 18th-century German Lutheran clergy Translators of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe