The 1912 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the German dramatist and novelist

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well. He recei ...

(1862–1949) "primarily in recognition of his fruitful, varied and outstanding production in the realm of dramatic art." He is the fourth German author to become a recipient of the prize after

Paul Heyse Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a distinguished German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the '' Tunnel über der Spree'' in Berlin and ''Die Krokodile'' in Munich, he wrote n ...

in 1910.Gerhart Hauptmann
britannica.com

Laureate

Gerhart Hauptmann achieved prominence as one of the pioneers of German Naturalism. Naturalism emphasizes observation and determinism as key concepts. ''Vor Sonnenaufgang'' ("Before Sunrise"), a drama he wrote in 1889, launched his career and received critical acclaim at the same time and was followed by other successful plays such as '' Die Weber'' ("The Weaver", 1892), ''

Hanneles Himmelfahrt ''The Ascension of Little Hannele'' (german: Hanneles Himmelfahrt), also known simply as ''Hannele'', is an 1893 play by the German playwright Gerhart Hauptmann.Hartnoll (1983, 377). In contrast to Hauptmann's naturalistic dramas, ''The Assumptio ...

'' ("The Assumption of Hannele", 1893), and ''

Die versunkene Glocke ''The Sunken Bell'' (german: Die versunkene Glocke) is a poetic play in blank verse by Gerhart Hauptmann (2. December 1896 in Berlin). Plot It is a fairy drama, the chief human character of which is Heinrich, a master bellfounder Bellfoundin ...

'' ("The Sunken Bell", 1896). Hauptmann was inspired by the discussion and quickly produced a series of works with realistic themes. He released ''Der Narr in Christo Emanuel Quint'' ("The Fool in Christ, Emanuel Quint)", his debut book, in 1910. Die Weber 1897 by Emil Orlik

Deliberations

Nominations

Gerhart Huaptmann was nominated in 5 occasions (three in 1902 and one nomination in 1906). His nomination in 1912 was made Erich Schmidt (1853–1913), historian of literature and member of the

Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin ...

, which eventually led him to being awarded the prize. In total, the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy received 40 nominations for 30 individuals. The highest nominations was for Spanish novelist Benito Pérez Galdós with five nominations. Among the repeated nominees include

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

(awarded in 1925), William Chapman,

Verner von Heidenstam Carl Gustaf Verner von Heidenstam (6 July 1859 – 20 May 1940) was a Swedish poet, novelist and laureate of the 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1912. His poems and prose work are filled with a great joy ...

(awarded in 1916, and

Juhani Aho Juhani Aho, originally Johannes Brofeldt (11 September 1861 – 8 August 1921), was a Finnish author and journalist. He was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature twelve times. Early life Juhani Aho was born at Lapinlahti in 1861. His pa ...

. Ten of the nominees were nominated first-time, among them

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson

(awarded in 1927),

Pencho Slaveykov Pencho Petkov Slaveykov ( bg, Пенчо Петков Славейков) (27 April 1866 O.S. – 10 June 1912 ( O.S. 28 May 1912)) was a noted Bulgarian poet and one of the participants in the Misal ("Thought") circle. He was the youngest son o ...

, Sven Hedin,

Carl Spitteler Carl Friedrich Georg Spitteler (24 April 1845 – 29 December 1924) was a Swiss poet who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1919 "in special appreciation of his epic, ''Olympian Spring''". His work includes both pessimistic and hero ...

(awarded in 1919),

Jean-Henri Fabre Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre (21 December 1823 – 11 October 1915) was a French naturalist, entomologist, and author known for the lively style of his popular books on the lives of insects. Biography Fabre was born on 21 December 1823 in Saint-L ...

, Salvatore Farina, Benito Pérez Galdós, Adolf Frey, and

James George Frazer Sir James George Frazer (; 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941) was a Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion. Personal life He was born on 1 Janua ...

. No female authors were nominated that year.Nomination archive – 1912
nobelprize.org The authors

Herman Bang Herman Joachim Bang (20 April 1857 – 29 January 1912) was a Danish journalist and author, one of the men of the Modern Breakthrough. Biography Bang was born in Asserballe, on the small Danish island of Als, the son of a South Jutlandic vicar ...

, Robert Barr, Berta Behrens,

Alexandre Bisson Alexandre Bisson (9 April 1848 – 27 January 1912) was a French playwright, vaudeville creator, and novelist. Born in Briouze, Orne in Lower Normandy, he was successful in his native France as well as in the United States. Remembered as a signi ...

Edward Wilmot Blyden Edward Wilmot Blyden (3 August 1832 – 7 February 1912) was a Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician who was primarily active in West Africa. Born in the Danish West Indies, he joined the waves of black immigrants from the ...

Felix Dahn Felix Dahn (9 February 1834 – 3 January 1912) was a German law professor, German nationalist author, poet and historian. Biography Ludwig Julius Sophus Felix Dahn was born in Hamburg as the oldest son of Friedrich (1811–1889) and Constanze ...

Louis de Gramont Louis Ferdinand de Gramont (1854 – 9 December 1912) was a French journalist, dramatist, and librettist. He was a son of Ferdinand de Gramont. Gramont was born in Sèvres and finished his studies at the college there, then entered the School of L ...

Léon Dierx Léon Dierx (; March 31, 1838 – June 11, 1912) was a French poet born in Saint-Denis in 1838. He came to Paris to study at the Central School of Arts and Manufactures and subsequently settled there, taking up a post in the education office. He ...

Horace Howard Furness Horace Howard Furness (November 2, 1833 – August 13, 1912) was an American Shakespearean scholar of the 19th century. Life and career Horace Furness was the son of the Unitarian minister and abolitionist William Henry Furness (1802–1896), ...

Joseph Furphy Joseph Furphy ( Irish: Seosamh Ó Foirbhithe; 26 September 1843 – 13 September 1912) was an Australian author and poet who is widely regarded as the "Father of the Australian novel". He mostly wrote under the pseudonym Tom Collins and is best ...

Jacques Futrelle Jacques Heath Futrelle (April 9, 1875 – April 15, 1912) was an American journalist and mystery writer. He is best known for writing short detective stories featuring Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, also known as "The Thinking Mac ...

Girish Chandra Ghosh Girish Chandra Ghosh (28 February 1844 – 8 February 1912) was a Bengali actor, director, and writer. He was largely responsible for the golden age of Bengali theatre.Kundu, Pranay K. ''Development of Stage and Theatre Music in Bengal.'' Publ ...

Theodor Gomperz Theodor Gomperz (March 29, 1832August 29, 1912), Austrian philosopher and classical scholar, was born at Brno (Brünn). Biography Gomperz studied at Brno and at Vienna under Hermann Bonitz. Graduating at the University of Vienna in 1867 he beca ...

George Grossmith George Grossmith (9 December 1847 – 1 March 1912) was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas, nearly 100 musical ...

, Bertha Jane Grundy,

Mir Mosharraf Hossain Mir Mosharraf Hossain ( bn, মীর মশাররফ হোসেন; 1847–1912) was a Bengali writer, novelist, playwright and essayist. He is considered to be the first major writer to emerge from the Muslim society of Bengal, and one ...

Alphonse Lemerre Alphonse Lemerre (Canisy, Normandy, France, 1838 – Paris, France, 1912) was a 19th-century French editor and publisher, known especially for having been the first to publish many of the Parnassian poets. Life Alphonse Lemerre was the eig ...

Lie Kim Hok Lie Kim Hok (; 1 November 1853 – 6 May 1912) was a ''peranakan'' Chinese teacher, writer, and social worker active in the Dutch East Indies and styled the "father of Chinese Malay literature". Born in Buitenzorg (now Bogor), West Jav ...

Karl May Karl Friedrich May ( , ; 25 February 1842 – 30 March 1912) was a German author. He is best known for his 19th century novels of fictitious travels and adventures, set in the American Old West with Winnetou and Old Shatterhand as main pro ...

Gabriel Monod Gabriel Monod (7 March 1844 – 10 April 1912) was a French historian, the nephew of Adolphe Monod. Biography Born in Ingouville, Seine-Maritime, he was educated at Le Havre then went to Paris to complete his education, lodging with the de Pre ...

Giovanni Pascoli Giovanni Placido Agostino Pascoli (; 31 December 1855 – 6 April 1912) was an Italian poet, classical scholar and an emblematic figure of Italian literature in the late nineteenth century. Alongside Gabriele D'Annunzio, he was one of the great ...

Rafael Pombo José Rafael de Pombo y Rebolledo (November 7, 1833 – May 5, 1912) was a Colombian poet born in Bogotá. Trained as a mathematician and an engineer in a military school, Rafael Pombo served in the army and he traveled to the United States of Ame ...

Bolesław Prus Aleksander Głowacki (20 August 1847 – 19 May 1912), better known by his pen name Bolesław Prus (), was a Polish novelist, a leading figure in the history of Polish literature and philosophy, as well as a distinctive voice in world li ...

, Addison Peale Russell,

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

Aleksey Suvorin Aleksei Sergeyevich Suvorin (Russian: Алексей Сергеевич Суворин, 11 September 1834, Korshevo, Voronezh Governorate – 11 August 1912, Tsarskoye Selo) was a Russian newspaper and book publisher and journalist whose publ ...

, and

Victoria, Lady Welby Victoria, Lady Welby (27 April 1837 – 29 March 1912), more correctly Lady Welby-Gregory, was a self-educated British philosopher of language, musician and watercolourist. Life Welby was born to the Hon. Charles Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie a ...

died in 1912 without having been nominated for the prize. The Bulgarian poet

died months before the announcement.

Notes

References

External links

Award ceremony speech by Hans Hildebrand
nobelprize.org
1912 Banquet speech
nobelprize.org {{Nobel Prize in Literature 1912