Simon Theodor Aufrecht (7 January 1822 – 3 April 1907) was a German

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') i ...

and comparative linguist. He was the first Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology at the University of Edinburgh, and subsequently spent two decades as Professor of Indology at the University of Bonn.

Biography

Aufrecht was born in Leschnitz,

Prussian Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official ...

, into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family; he later adopted Christianity. He was educated at Humboldt-Universität in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, graduating in 1847, in which year he also published a treatise on

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

accent (''De Accentu Sancritico'',

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, 1847), originally his dissertation. With Kirchhoff, he collaborated in the publication of ''Die umbrischen Denkmäler'' (

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

n memorials, 1849–51). With

Adalbert Kuhn Franz Felix Adalbert Kuhn (19 November 1812 – 5 May 1881) was a German philologist and folklorist. Kuhn was born in Königsberg in Brandenburg's Neumark region. From 1841 he was connected with the Köllnisches Gymnasium at Berlin, of w ...

, he founded the ''Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung'' (1852). In 1852 he moved to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

to assist

Friedrich Max Muller Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

in preparation of his edition of

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only on ...

with Sāyaṇa's commentary. He studied at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

and prepared a catalogue of its collection of Sanskrit manuscripts (''Catalogi codicum manuscriptorum bibl. Bodleianae P. VIII. codices Sanscriticos complectens'', 1859–64). From 1862 until 1875, he was professor at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, where he occupied the newly established chair of Sanskrit and comparative philology. There, in 1875, he was granted the degree of

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

In 1875, Aufrecht was appointed to the chair of indology 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 ...

, and remained at that post until 1889. Between 1891 and 1903, he published a three volume alphabetical catalogue of all

manuscript collections known at the time, in a work titled, ''Catalogus Catalogorum''. This was the first such attempt to catalogue all Indian manuscripts, built on Aufrecht's previous catalogues of Sanskrit manuscripts of libraries of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

(1869), Florence (1892), Leipzig (1901), and München (1909). Beginning in 1935, the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

began working on an updated catalogue called the New Catalogus Catalogorum, which was completed in 2019 with the publication of its 42nd volume. Aufrecht died in

Bibliography

* ''De accentu sanscritico'', Bonnae: H. B. Konig, 1847. * ''Ujjvaladatta's Commentary'' (from a manuscript in the library of the East India House), 1859. * ''Die Hymnen des Rigveda'', 2 volumes,1877. * ''Aitareya Brahmana'', 1879. * ''Catalogus Catalogorum'', 3 volumes, Leipzig, 1891, 1896 and 1903.

Notes

References

* * * Kirfel, Willibald, "Aufrecht, Theodor". Deutsche Biographie.

External links

The Bonn School of German Indology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aufrecht, Theodor 1822 births 1907 deaths 19th-century German Jews German Indologists Jewish orientalists People from the Province of Silesia People from Strzelce County German Sanskrit scholars Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academics of the University of Edinburgh University of Bonn faculty German male non-fiction writers German expatriates in the United Kingdom Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities