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Heymann Steinthal Archive

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Steinthal, Heymann, 1823-1899 (Creator of the archive)
  • Archive
Photogravure Synnberg Photo-gravure Co., 1898.Wellcome Collection gallery via Wikimedia Commons.

Chajim (Heymann) Steinthal (1823 – 1899) was a linguist and a philosopher. He studied philology, philosophy and psychology at the universities of Berlin and Tübingen, and obtained his PhD in Tübingen in 1847. In 1850 he was appointed associate professor at the university of Berlin and later taught at the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums ('Higher School of Jewish Studies'). In 1851 he married Jeanette Lazarus, the sister of Moritz Lazarus. Steinthal is said to have studied 24 different languages, many of them non-European, for example Tibetan, Mongolian, Japanese, Turkish and Persian. He taught seminars on Chinese literature and Grammar, comparative mythology and the history of epic poetry. With Moritz Lazarus he founded the Zeitschrift für Völkerkunde ('Journal of Ethnology') in 1860. In 1869 he was one of the founding members of the Berlin society for anthropology, ethnology and prehistory. In 1884 he published Wilhelm von Humboldt's philological works. From 1883 he was also one of the directors of the Deutsch-Israelitischen Gemeindebund ('Association of German-Israelite Congregations') and in charge of the department of religious education in several small communities.

Reference Code
ARC. Ms. Var. 283
Dates
1847-1898
Consists of
0.3 m..
Languages
German;
Description
The archive includes correspondence and publications.;הארכיון כולל התכתבויות ופרסומים.
location
  • The Archives Collection of the National Library of Israel The Archives Collection of the National Library of Israel
Title Heymann Steinthal Archive.
Additional Titles כותרת בעברית: ארכיון הרמן הימן שטינטל.
Archive of Heymann Steinthal.
Citation Note ARC. Ms. Var. 283, Heymann Steinthal Archive, Archives Department, National Library of Israel, Jerusalem
Host Item Heymann Steinthal Archive.
Level of Description Fonds Record
Biographical summary Chajim Heymann Steinthal, (his first name is also given as Heinemann, Hermann or Heinrich) was born on May 16 1823 in Gröbzig, Anhalt. After finishing the secondary school of Bernburg (Saale) he studied philology and mythology at Berlin university. He was especially interested in languages and in the theories of Wilhelm von Humboldt in regard to philology, and published Humboldt's linguistic works in 1884. He received a doctor's degree in philosophy from the university of Tübingen for his research on the relative pronoun in 1847. In the previous year he had been a student of Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Heyse (1797-1855) with whom he kept a deep friendship. In 1849 Steinthal qualified as professor with his work on Wilhelm von Humboldt "Die Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von Humboldts und die Hegelsche Philosophie". In 1850 he was appointed assistant professor in Berlin, between 1852 and 1855 he spent time in Paris and London to study Chinese and African languages. In 1863 he became honorary professor in Berlin. In 1851 he met Moritz Lazarus, with whom he founded the Zeitschrift für Völkerkunde in 1860, and whose sister Jeanette he married in 1861. Together with Lazarus he developed the theory and scientific approach to the field of Völkerpsychologie, the predecessor of a range of subjects from ethnology, prehistory, anthropology and social sciences. Steinthal was also one of the founding members of the Berlin Society of Anthropology, Ethnology and Early History in 1869. From 1872 onward he also lectured on the philosophy of religion at the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums in Berlin. The Royal scientific society of Uppsala awarded him an honorary membership, and he was also member of several scientific societies and from 1883 one of the directors of the Deutsch – Israelitischen Gemeindebunds. He died on May 14, 1899 in Berlin and is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Berlin-Weißensee.
Language Note The materials are in German.
Credits Heymann Steinthal Archive, The National Library of Israel. Digitization and cataloguing of this fonds was funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG / German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy - EXC 2176 'Understanding Written Artefacts: Material, Interaction and Transmission in Manuscript Cultures', project no. 390893796. The research is conducted within the scope of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) at Universität Hamburg.
National Library system number 990026897530205171
Links תמונת ארכיון

When using this material, please acknowledge the source of the material as follows:

Heymann Steinthal Archive, The National Library of Israel. Digitization and cataloguing of this fonds was funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG / German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy - EXC 2176 'Understanding Written Artefacts: Material, Interaction and Transmission in Manuscript Cultures', project no. 390893796. The research is conducted within the scope of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) at Universität Hamburg.

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Moritz Lazarus und Heymann Steinthal : die Begründer der Völkerpsychologie in ihren Briefen / mit einer Einleitung herausgegeben von Ingrid Belke.

Moritz Lazarus 1824-1903

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[Collection of articles by H. Steinthal].

Heymann Steinthal 1823-1899

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Mythos und Religion / von H. Steinthal.

Heymann Steinthal 1823-1899

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Zu Bibel und Religionsphilosophie : Vorträge und Abhandlungen / von H. Steinthal.
Zu Bibel und Religionsphilosophie : Vorträge und Abhandlungen / von H. Steinthal.

Heymann Steinthal 1823-1899

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