Leonhard Schmitz FRSE (1807 – May 1890) was a Prussian-born

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and educational author, mainly active in the United Kingdom. He is sometimes referred to in the Anglicised version of his name Leonard Schmitz.

Biography

Schmitz was born in

Eupen Eupen (, ; ; formerly ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, from the German border ( Aachen), from the Dutch border (Maastricht) and from the " High Fens" ...

in what was then

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

(now in Belgium) close to the Belgium/Germany border. He attended gymnasium in Aix-la-Chappelle to the east (now called Aachen and within modern day Germany). He lost his right arm in an accident at the age of 10, but nonetheless excelled academically. He studied at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

, where he earned a PhD, and was in particular influenced by

Barthold Georg Niebuhr Barthold Georg Niebuhr (27 August 1776 – 2 January 1831) was a Danish–German statesman, banker, and historian who became Germany's leading historian of Ancient Rome and a founding father of modern scholarly historiography. By 1810 Niebuhr wa ...

; Schmitz later published in England a collection of notes taken from Niebuhr's lectures as ''Lectures on Roman History'' (1844). He became associated with a number of scholars there, writing many of the mythological entries for classicist William Smith's ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

'', and serving as "a key figure in the transmission of German classical scholarship to Victorian Britain". Schmitz moved to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in 1846 to serve as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Royal High School in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

from that year until 1866. He lived at 11 Carlton Terrace on

Calton Hill Calton Hill () is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the cit ...

very close to the school. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1846 his proposer being

James Pillans James Pillans FRSE (1778–1864) was a Scottish classical scholar and educational reformer. He is credited with inventing the blackboard, but more correctly was the inventor of coloured chalk. Early life The son of James Pillans, he was b ...

. In his induction speech he expressed the hope that his appointment would be "the means of strengthening and increasing the intellectual sympathy which has so long existed between this country and Germany". In that office in 1859 he also tutored

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...

in Roman history. Schmitz moved back to England in 1866, serving as Principal of London International College from 1866 to 1874, and Classical Examiner at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

from 1874 to 1884. He was granted a

civil list pension Pensions in the United Kingdom, whereby United Kingdom tax payers have some of their wages deducted to save for retirement, can be categorised into three major divisions - state, occupational and personal pensions. The state pension is based on ...

of £50 in 1881, doubled in 1886.

Family

He married an English woman, Eliza Mary Machell, and moved to England in 1837; around 1840 they had a daughter, Leonora Schmitz, who would become a noted music critic.

Works

* ''A Grammar of the Latin Language'' (1845) with Karl Zumpt * ''The History of Rome'' (1851) co-author * ''Lectures on Ancient History'' (1852) * ''Lectures on the History of Rome'' (1852) * ''Elementary Latin Grammar and Exercise'' (1853) * ''Lectures on Ancient Ethnography and Geography'' (1854) * ''A Manual of Ancient Geography'' (1857) * ''The Ancient History of

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

'' (1859) * ''Biographies of Eminent Soldiers of the Last Four Centuries'' (18965) * ''A History of England for Junior Classes'' (1877) * ''A History of Latin Literature'' (1877) * ''A Practical Grammar of the German Language'' * Putnam's Short School Histories (1876): ''England'' + ''Germany'' + ''Greece'' + ''Rome''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitz, Leonhard 1807 births 1890 deaths People from Eupen German classical scholars Heads of schools in Scotland Heads of schools in England German expatriates in the United Kingdom German amputees