Joseph Kürschner (20 September 1853, in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

– 29 July 1902, on a journey to Huben) was a German

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

most often cited for his critical edition of classics from

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

Biography

At first engaged in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

, he afterwards studied at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

. Then he lived several years in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He then managed the Stuttgart periodical ''Vom Fels zum Meer'' (1881–89). From 1880 to 1882, he was editor of ''Neue Zeit'', official organ of German dramatical authors and composers, then from 1885 to 1886 he edited ''Deutsche Schriftstellerzeitung'' (German writers' newspaper). He was appointed literary director of the Deutsche Verlagsanstalt and moved in 1893 to

Eisenach Eisenach () is a Town#Germany, town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia, and bordering northeastern Hesse, Hessian re ...

. In 1889, he was made councilor (''

Hofrat was the title of the highest advising officials at the imperial, royal, or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic reigns in Ge ...

'') and professor by

Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Ernest II (; 21 June 181822 August 1893) was Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 29 January 1844 to his death in 1893. He was born in Coburg to Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. His father be ...

. Besides several publications connected with the history of German theater, he edited successively in

and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

a considerable number of literary monthlies, year-books, and other periodicals. He was also editor of the ''Deutsche Nationallitteratur'', a critical collection in 220 volumes of classics from German literature. He was also widely known as the editor, after 1883, of the ''Allgemeiner deutscher Litteraturkalender'' (Stuttgart, 1879 et seq.), an annual biographical record of all German authors and their works.

Original works

* ''Konrad Ekhof'' (1872) * ''Bayreuther Tagebuchblätter'' (Bayreuth diary; 1870) * ''Heil Kaiser Dir!'' (1897) * ''Frau Musika'' (1898) * ''China'' (1901) * ''Kaiser Wilhelm II als Soldat und Seemann'' (1902)

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurschner, Joseph 1853 births 1902 deaths German editors Leipzig University alumni German male writers