Carl Ferdinand Julius Fröbel (16 July 1805 – 7 November 1893) was a German geologist and mineralogist, journalist, and democratic revolutionary already during the ''

Vormärz ' (; English: ''pre-March'') was a period in the history of Germany preceding the 1848 March Revolution in the states of the German Confederation. The beginning of the period is less well-defined. Some place the starting point directly after the ...

'' era. He was active in Germany, Switzerland, the United States and South America at different times in his life.

Biography

He was born in the

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

n village of Griesheim (today part of the

Ilmtal Ilmtal is a former municipality in the district Ilm-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany. In July 2018, it was merged into the town Stadtilm Stadtilm is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Ilm, 15 km ...

municipality), the son of pastor Johann Michael Christoph Fröbel (d. 1813) and his wife Christiane Sopie. He attended the educational institute of his uncle

Friedrich Fröbel Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel or Froebel (; 21 April 1782 – 21 June 1852) was a German pedagogue, a student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique need ...

, the founder of the

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

system, and continued his studies of natural sciences at the universities of

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, and

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 ...

. By the agency of

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

, Fröbel took up a teaching position in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

in 1833 and became a naturalized citizen of Switzerland. From 1836, he taught mineralogy at the

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. In 1838 he married his first wife Kleophea, née Zeller. Upon the reactionary

Züriputsch The Züriputsch of 6 September 1839 was a putsch of the rural conservative population against the liberal rule of the city of Zürich on the eve of the formation of the Swiss federal state. The reason for the putsch was the appointment of th ...

in 1839, he joined the radical party, and edited ''Der schweizerische Republikaner'' (The Swiss Republican) for them. In 1840/1841, he established a publishing house (''Literarisches Comptoir'') at Zurich. He issued several scientific works and many political pamphlets, many of which were suppressed in the states of the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

, among them writings by Bruno Bauer,

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Ludwig Feuerbach Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach (; 28 July 1804 – 13 September 1872) was a German anthropologist and philosopher, best known for his book '' The Essence of Christianity'', which provided a critique of Christianity that strongly influenced gene ...

Arnold Ruge Arnold Ruge (13 September 1802 – 31 December 1880) was a German philosopher and political writer. He was the older brother of Ludwig Ruge. Studies in university and prison Born in Bergen auf Rügen, he studied in Halle, Jena and Heidelberg. ...

Friedrich Wilhelm Schulz Friedrich Wilhelm Schulz (often known as ''Wilhelm Schulz'' or after his second marriage ''Wilhelm Schulz-Bodmer''; 13 March 1797 in Darmstadt – 9 January 1860 in Hottingen) was a German officer, political writer and radical liberal pu ...

, and

David Strauss David Friedrich Strauss (german: link=no, Strauß ; 27 January 1808 – 8 February 1874) was a German liberal Protestant theologian and writer, who influenced Christian Europe with his portrayal of the "historical Jesus", whose divine nature he ...

, as well as poems by

Georg Herwegh Georg Friedrich Rudolph Theodor Herwegh (31 May 1817 – 7 April 1875) was a German poet,Herwegh, Georg, The Columbia Encyclopedia (2008) who is considered part of the Young Germany movement. Biography He was born in Stuttgart on 31 May 1817, ...

Hoffmann von Fallersleben August Heinrich Hoffmann (, calling himself von Fallersleben, after his hometown; 2 April 179819 January 1874) was a German poet. He is best known for writing "Das Lied der Deutschen", whose third stanza is now the national anthem of Germany, an ...

and

Gottfried Keller Gottfried Keller (19 July 1819 – 15 July 1890) was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature. Best known for his novel '' Green Henry'' (German: ''Der grüne Heinrich'') and his cycle of novellas called ''The People from Seldwyla'' (''Die Leu ...

In 1846, Fröbel moved to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

. Upon the

Revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

, he became a leader of the democrats, and was elected a member of the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...

. Afterward, he accompanied the radical

Robert Blum Robert Blum (10 November 1807 – 9 November 1848) was a German democratic politician, publicist, poet, publisher, revolutionist and member of the National Assembly of 1848. In his fight for a strong, unified Germany he opposed ethnocentrism a ...

to the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

capital

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

, where both joined the bloody October Uprising. Fröbel was arrested and condemned to death by the court-martial that also convicted Blum, who was shot on 9 November. Fröbel was pardoned by Field Marshal Prince Alfred of Windisch-Grätz before the date of his execution was fixed. On the dissolution of the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849, he emigrated to the United States, where he became editor of a German-language newspaper, lectured in New York City, and was a member of the law firm of Zitz, Kapp & Fröbel for a time. He was for a time residing among German

Free Thinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other metho ...

in Sisterdale, Texas. Texas State Historical Association In 1850, he went to

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

, Santa Fé, and Chihuahua as correspondent of the New York ''Tribune''. In 1855, he was editor of a San Francisco paper. After the death of his first wife, he secondly married Karolina (1821–1888), a daughter of the former Greek prime minister Count

Josef Ludwig von Armansperg Josef Ludwig, Graf von Armansperg ( el, Κόμης Ιωσήφ Λουδοβίκος Άρμανσπεργκ; 28 February 1787 – 3 April 1853) served as the Interior and Finance Minister (1826–1828) and Foreign and Finance Minister (1828–1831) u ...

. After a general amnesty, Fröbel returned to Germany in 1857. Efforts were made to expel him from Frankfurt, but he was protected on the ground of his naturalization as a citizen of the United States. In 1863, he went again to Vienna, and became a federalist leader supporting a "Greater German" solution of the

German Question The "German question" was a debate in the 19th century, especially during the Revolutions of 1848, over the best way to achieve a unification of all or most lands inhabited by Germans. From 1815 to 1866, about 37 independent German-speaking sta ...

. From 1862 to 1873, he edited newspapers in Vienna and

. After the

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...

, he was appointed consul of the German Empire at

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

in 1873, and in 1876 was transferred to Algiers. Fröbel retired in 1888; he died in Zürich, at the age of 88.

Works

* ''System of Social Politics'' (London, 1847) * ''The Republican'', an historical drama (1848) * ''Seven Years' Travel in Central America, Northern Mexico, and the Far West of the United States'' (1859)available to read online at Hathi Trust
/ref> * ''Theory of Politics'' (1861) * ''Political Addresses'' (1870) * ''Die Wirtschaft des Menschengeschlechts'' (1870–76) * ''Ein Lebenslauf'', an autobiography (1890–1891)

References

Bibliography

* * * Carl Wittke, ''Refugees of Revolution: The German Forty-Eighters in America'', Philadelphia: Univ. of Penn. Press, 1952, pp. 325–326
At archive.org
*Frobel, Julius, ''Amerika, Europa, Und Die Politischen Gesichtspunkte Der Gegenwart'' (1859) (German POD scanned edition), Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2009, *Frobel, Julius, ''Briefe über die Wiener Oktober-Revolution: Mit Notizen über die Letzten Tage Robert Blum's'' (German POD scanned edition),

Nabu Press BiblioBazaar is, with Nabu Press, an imprint of the historical reprints publisher BiblioLife, which is based in Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston C ...

, 2010, *Frobel, Julius, ''Theorie der Politik: Als Ergebniss Einer Erneuerten Prüfung Demokratischer Lehrmeinungen'' (German POD scanned edition),

BiblioBazaar BiblioBazaar is, with Nabu Press, an imprint of the historical reprints publisher BiblioLife, which is based in Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston ...

, 2009,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frobel, Julius 1805 births 1893 deaths People from Ilm-Kreis People from Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt German religious humanists Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Jena alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni German-American Forty-Eighters German emigrants to the Republic of Texas German emigrants to the United States German diplomats German journalists German male journalists 19th-century German journalists 19th-century German male writers