Constantin Wurzbach Ritter von Tannenberg (11 April 1818 – 17 August 1893) was an Austrian biographer, lexicographer and author.

Biography

He was born in Laibach,

Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...

(present-day Ljubljana, Slovenia).He later went on to complete a course in philosophy and published poetry in local periodicals, inspired by the work of Nikolaus Lenau and Anastasius Grün. At the request of his father, he began studying jurisprudence at

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, which he, however, abandoned after two years. Instead, he joined the Austrian army and served in a Galician infantry regiment at Cracow from 1837. As a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

, he continued to publish poems under the pseudonym ''W. Constant''. In 1841 he was promoted to the rank of

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

('' Unterleutnant'') and transferred to Lemberg ( Lviv). At the same time, he studied philosophy at the

Lemberg University The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...

and in 1843 became the first active officer in the Austrian army to obtain a doctorate. By the end of the year, Wurzbach left the army and took up an appointment at the Lemberg University library. In 1849 he was appointed librarian in the Ministry of the Interior at Vienna, and subsequently secretary in the Ministry of State. Wurzbach died in

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...

, Bavaria. He was the father of

Alfred von Wurzbach Alfred Wurzbach Ritter von Tannenberg (born 22 July 1846 in Lemberg; died 18 May 1915 in Vienna) was an Austrian art critic. Biography He was the son of Constantin von Wurzbach. He studied jurisprudence in Vienna and entered the civil servic ...

, an art critic.

Works

He is best known for: * ''Bibliographisch-statistische Uebersicht der Litteratur des österreichischen Kaiserstaates'' (Bibliographic-statistical overview of the literature of the Austrian Empire, 1856) * ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaisertums Oesterreich'' (Biographical dictionary of the Austrian Empire; 60 vols., 1857–92) A unique publication on a gigantic scale, containing about 25,000 critical biographies of notable personages in every walk of life and from all parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. His other writings include: * ''Die Volkslieder der Polen und Ruthenen'' (Folk songs of Poland and the Eastern Slavs, 1846) * ''Die Sprichwörter der Polen'' (Proverbs of Poland, 1852) * ''Die Kirchen der Stadt Krakau'' (The churches of Krakau, 1853) * ''Joseph Haydn und sein Bruder Michael'' (

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and his brother Michael, 1861) * ''Glimpf und Schimpf in Spruch und Wort'' (Tolerance and insult in maxim and word, 1864) * ''Historische Wörter, Sprichwörter und Redensarten'' (Historical words, proverbs and idioms, 1866) * '' Franz Grillparzer'' (1871) * ''Ein Madonnenmaler unserer Zeit: E. Steinle'' (A madonna painter of our times: E. Steinle, 1879) * ''Feldmarschall Erzherzog Karl'' (Fieldmarshal Archduke Karl, 1880)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wurzbach, Constantin von 1818 births 1893 deaths Austrian biographers Male biographers Austrian bibliographers Austrian knights 19th-century lexicographers Writers from Ljubljana University of Graz alumni