Heinrich August Pierer, c.1850 Heinrich August Pierer (26 February 1794 in Altenburg – 12 May 1850, Altenburg) was a German

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

and publisher known particularly for his ''Universal-Lexikon der Vergangenheit und Gegenwart'', a multi-volume encyclopedic dictionary first published in 1835–6. It went through a number of editions, both during his lifetime and later. He was the son of publisher Johann Friedrich Pierer (de) (1767–1832). He studied medicine at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

, afterwards being involved in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. He fought in the Battle of Leipzig, being wounded at the storming of

Wachau The Wachau () is an Austrian valley with a picturesque landscape formed by the Danube river. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations of Lower Austria, located midway between the towns of Melk and Krems that also attracts "connois ...

, and later participated in the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

. Following the end of hostilities he worked as a schoolteacher in Posen, and in 1820 became a partner in his father's printing business, Pierer'sche Hofbuchdruckerei.

External links

''Pierer's Universal-Lexikon der Vergangenheit und Gegenwart''
online version of the nineteen-volume fourth edition published posthumously in the years 1857–1865. Als
at HathiTrust

Wikisource
at Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 1794 births 1850 deaths German lexicographers German publishers (people) People from Altenburg German male non-fiction writers German encyclopedists 19th-century lexicographers {{germany-linguist-stub