Constantin Wurzbach Ritter von Tannenberg (11 April 1818 – 17 August 1893) was an

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and author.

Biography

He was born in Laibach,

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(present-day

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).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

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, 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 a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

, he continued to publish poems under the pseudonym ''W. Constant''. In 1841 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant ('' Unterleutnant'') and transferred to Lemberg (

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). At the same time, he studied philosophy at the Lemberg University and in 1843 became the first active officer in the Austrian army to obtain a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

. 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

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, and subsequently secretary in the Ministry of State. Wurzbach died in

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. He was the father of Alfred von Wurzbach, 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

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and the Eastern Slavs, 1846) * ''Die Sprichwörter der Polen'' (Proverbs of Poland, 1852) * ''Die Kirchen der Stadt Krakau'' (The churches of

Krakau Krakau is a municipality in the district of Murau (district), Murau in Styria, Austria. It was created on 1 January 2015 when the municipalities of Krakaudorf, Krakauhintermühlen and Krakauschatten were merged.http://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/L ...

, 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 Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, 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 Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna. He ...

'' (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 Biographers from Austria-Hungary Austrian biographers Austrian male biographers Austrian bibliographers 19th-century lexicographers Writers from Ljubljana University of Graz alumni Haydn scholars Krommer scholars