Adolf Heinrich Strodtmann (24 March 1829, in

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been div ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

– 17 March 1879, in

Steglitz Steglitz () is a boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in Southwestern Berlin, the capital of Germany. is derived from the Slavic languages, Slavic name for the European goldfinch, similar to the German . ...

) was a German poet, journalist, translator and literary historian. He wrote an early biography of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

and emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for a time.

Biography

He had a peripatetic youth, learning the classics in four

gymnasiums A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

. Although this was not conducive to learning the

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

, it had the benefit of showing him things from several points of view and taught him the

Danish language Danish (, ; , ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken by about six million people, principally in and around Denmark. Communities of Danish speakers are a ...

well. In 1848 he participated, on the side of the Germans, in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Du ...

. He was severely wounded and spent some time in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

harbor on the prison ship “Dronning Maria.” On being set at liberty, he published ''Lieder eines Gefangenen auf der Dronning Maria'' (Songs of a prisoner of the “Dronning Maria”, 1848). Strodtmann then became a student at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

where he especially became devoted to

Gottfried Kinkel Johann Gottfried Kinkel (11 August 1815 – 13 November 1882) was a German poet also noted for his revolutionary activities and his escape from a Prussian prison in Spandau with the help of his friend Carl Schurz. Early life He was born at Ober ...

; however, after a short time, he was suspended because of his political activities. He then published ''Lieder der Nacht'' (Songs of the Night, 1850) and a biography of Gottfried Kinkel (1850). He went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and in 1852, he sailed for

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and with help from his father, the not-very-practical ex-student entered the book trade in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, buying, selling and lending, as well as publishing a literary magazine called ''Die Locomotive''. The business was not successful and closed in 1854, after which he traveled around the country pursuing literary interests, eventually settling in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Weary of his various efforts to make a living, he returned to Germany in 1856, becoming a citizen of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. He covered the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

for several newspapers, and in 1871, he moved to a suburb of

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 ...

where he lived for the rest of his life. The beginning of his writing career was mostly devoted to composing poetry, but as he became older and less revolutionary, he devoted more time to translation (into German) and literary history. He is most noticed as an early biographer of

and a compiler of his work. He published the correspondence of the poet

Bürger Bürger or Buerger is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Gottfried August Bürger, German poet * Heinrich Bürger, German physicist and biologist * Heinrich Otto Wilhelm Bürger, German zoologist * Karl-Heinz Bürger, German S ...

. He translated three works from French, but mostly concentrated on Danish and English which he knew better. A noteworthy example of his translations from English is his ''Amerikanische Anthologie'' of 1870.

References

* * *

Carl Schurz Carl Christian Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German-American revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He migrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent ...

. New York: The McClure Company. 1907. Schurz discusses his friend in Chapters IV, V and XII of Volume One. {{DEFAULTSORT:Strodtmann, Adolf German biographers German male biographers People from the Duchy of Schleswig University of Bonn alumni German people of the Revolutions of 1848 Emigrants from the German Confederation to the United States 1829 births 1879 deaths 19th-century German translators German male poets 19th-century German poets 19th-century German male writers