Benno Landsberger (21 April 1890 – 26 April 1968) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Assyriologist Assyriology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logy, -logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cune ...

Biography

Benno Landsberger was born on 21 April 1890 in Friedek, then part of

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Habsburg monarchy (from 1804 the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 the Cisleithanian portion of Austria-Hungary). It is la ...

, and from 1908 studied Oriental Studies at

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. Amongst his teachers were August Fischer in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and Heinrich Zimmern in

Assyriology Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cuneiform writing. The fie ...

. In 1914, Landsberger joined the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

, where he fought with distinction on the Eastern Front, winning a golden Distinguished Service Cross. He returned to Leipzig after the war and was appointed to the position of 'extraordinary professor" in 1926. In 1928, he was appointed successor to Peter Jensen at

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

, but returned to Leipzig in 1929 as Zimmern's successor. Landsberger was dismissed in 1935 as a result of the Nazi-era

Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws (, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. The two laws were the Law ...

which stripped

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

people of citizenship, having been allowed to stay in Germany after the

Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service (, shortened to ''Berufsbeamtengesetz''), also known as Civil Service Law, Civil Service Restoration Act, and Law to Re-establish the Civil Service, was enacted by the Nazi Party, Na ...

in 1933 due to the fact he served in WW1. Landsberger accepted a post at the new Turkish University of Ankara, working especially in the area of languages, history and geography. After 1945 he was appointed to the Oriental Institute of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, where he worked until 1955. During this period he became a naturalized American citizen. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1959.

Works

* ''The ritual calendar of Babylonia and Assyria'' Leipzig 1914 (thesis) Leipzig Semitic Studies Bd 6, H, 1 February 1915
"Der 'Ventiv' des Akkadischen" Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 35: 113–23 1924
* ''Über die Völker Vorderasiens im dritten Jahrtausend'' Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 35: 213–44 1924 * ''Assyrische Handelskolonien in Kleinasien aus dem dritten Jahrtausend'' (Assyrian Commercial Colonies in Asia Minor from the Third Millennium) Leipzig 1925 (Der Alte Orient, Bd. 24. H. 4) * ''Materialen zum sumerischen Lexikon'' (Materials for the Sumerian Lexicon, ed. with others) Rome 1937- * ''The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago'' (ed. with others) Chicago 1956-

References

Sources

deutsche-biographie.de. Accessed 13 February 2024. (in German) 1890 births 1968 deaths Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany 20th-century Austrian people German Assyriologists Austrian Assyriologists Jewish orientalists Silesian Jews American people of Czech-Jewish descent Expatriates in Turkey People from Frýdek-Místek German male non-fiction writers Corresponding fellows of the British Academy Austro-Hungarian Army officers Members of the American Philosophical Society {{Germany-linguist-stub