Carl Ferdinand Julius Fröbel (16 July 1805 – 7 November 1893) was a German geologist and mineralogist, journalist, and democratic revolutionary already during the ''

Vormärz ' (; English: ''pre-March'') was a period in the history of Germany preceding the 1848 March Revolution in the states of the German Confederation. The beginning of the period is less well-defined. Some place the starting point directly after ...

'' era. He was active in Germany, Switzerland, the United States and South America at different times in his life.

Biography

He was born in the village of Griesheim (today part of the

Stadtilm Stadtilm () is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Ilm, 15 km northeast of Ilmenau, and 11 km southeast of Arnstadt. In July 2018 the former municipality of Ilmtal was merged into Stadtil ...

), in

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of House of Schwarzburg, Schwarzburg dy ...

. He was the son of pastor Johann Michael Christoph Fröbel (d. 1813) and his wife Christiane Sopie. He attended the educational institute of his uncle

Friedrich Fröbel Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel or Froebel (; 21 April 1782 – 21 June 1852) was a German pedagogue, a student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique nee ...

, the founder of the

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

system, and continued his studies of

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

s at the universities of

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, and

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 ...

. By the agency of

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

, Fröbel took up a teaching position in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

in 1833 and became a naturalized citizen of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. From 1836, he taught mineralogy at the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

. In 1838 he married his first wife Kleophea, née Zeller. Upon the reactionary

Züriputsch The Züriputsch of 6 September 1839 was a putsch of the rural conservative population against the liberal rule of the city of Zurich on the eve of the formation of the Swiss federal state. The reason for the putsch was the appointment of the ...

in 1839, he joined the

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

party, and edited ''Der schweizerische Republikaner'' (The Swiss Republican) for them. In 1840/1841, he established a publishing house (''Literarisches Comptoir'') at Zurich. He issued several scientific works and many political pamphlets, many of which were suppressed in the states of the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

, among them writings by

Bruno Bauer Bruno Bauer (; ; 6 September 180913 April 1882) was a German philosopher and theologian. As a student of G. W. F. Hegel, Bauer was a radical Rationalist in philosophy, politics and Biblical criticism. Bauer investigated the sources of the New T ...

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Ludwig Feuerbach Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach (; ; 28 July 1804 – 13 September 1872) was a German anthropologist and philosopher, best known for his book '' The Essence of Christianity'', which provided a critique of Christianity that strongly influenced ge ...

Arnold Ruge Arnold Ruge (; 13 September 1802 – 31 December 1880) was a German philosopher and political writer. He was the older brother of Ludwig Ruge. Studies in university and prison Born in Bergen auf Rügen, he studied at Halle, Jena and Heidelberg. ...

, Friedrich Wilhelm Schulz, and

David Strauss David Friedrich Strauss (; ; 27 January 1808 – 8 February 1874) was a German liberal Protestant theologian and writer, who influenced Christian Europe with his portrayal of the "historical Jesus", whose divine nature he explored via myth. St ...

, as well as poems by

Georg Herwegh Georg Friedrich Rudolph Theodor Herwegh (31 May 1817 – 7 April 1875) was a German poet,Herwegh, Georg, The Columbia Encyclopedia (2008) who is considered part of the Young Germany movement. Biography He was born in Stuttgart on 31 May 1817, t ...

Hoffmann von Fallersleben August Heinrich Hoffmann (, calling himself von Fallersleben, after his hometown; 2 April 179819 January 1874) was a German poet. He is best known for writing "", whose third stanza is now the national anthem of Germany, and a number of popular ...

and

Gottfried Keller Gottfried Keller (19 July 1819 – 15 July 1890) was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature. Best known for his novel '' Green Henry'' (German: ''Der grüne Heinrich'') and his cycle of novellas called '' Seldwyla Folks'' (''Die Leute von Se ...

In 1846, Fröbel moved to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. Upon the

Revolution of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, he became a leader of the democrats, and was elected a member of the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt National Assembly () was the first freely elected parliament for all German Confederation, German states, including the German-populated areas of the Austrian Empire, elected on 1 May 1848 (see German federal election, 1848). The ...

. Afterward, he accompanied the radical

Robert Blum Robert Blum (10 November 1807 – 9 November 1848) was a German democratic politician, publicist, poet, publisher, revolutionary and member of the National Assembly of 1848. In his fight for a strong, unified Germany he opposed ethnocentrism and ...

to the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

capital

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where both joined the bloody October Uprising. Fröbel was arrested and condemned to death by the court-martial that also convicted Blum, who was shot on 9 November. Fröbel was pardoned by Field Marshal Prince Alfred of Windisch-Grätz before the date of his execution was fixed. On the dissolution of the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849, he emigrated to the United States, where he became editor of a German-language newspaper, lectured in New York City, and was a member of the law firm of Zitz, Kapp & Fröbel for a time. He was for a time residing among German

Free Thinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other meth ...

in Sisterdale, Texas. Texas State Historical Association In 1850, he went to

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, Santa Fé, and Chihuahua as correspondent of the New York ''Tribune''. In 1855, he was editor of a San Francisco paper. After the death of his first wife, he secondly married Karolina (1821–1888), a daughter of the former Greek prime minister Count

Josef Ludwig von Armansperg Josef Ludwig, Graf von Armansperg (; 28 February 1787 – 3 April 1853) served as the Interior and Finance Minister (1826–1828) and Foreign and Finance Minister (1828–1831) under Ludwig I of Bavaria, King Ludwig I of Bavaria in the government o ...

. After a general amnesty, Fröbel returned to Germany in 1857. Efforts were made to expel him from Frankfurt, but he was protected on the ground of his naturalization as a citizen of the United States. In 1863, he went again to Vienna, and became a federalist leader supporting a "Greater German" solution of the German Question. From 1862 to 1873, he edited newspapers in Vienna and

. After the

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...

, he was appointed consul of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

in 1873, and in 1876 was transferred to

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. Fröbel retired in 1888; he died in Zürich, at the age of 88.

Works

* ''System of Social Politics'' (London, 1847) * ''The Republican'', an historical drama (1848) * ''Seven Years' Travel in Central America, Northern Mexico, and the Far West of the United States'' (1859)available to read online at Hathi Trust
/ref> * ''Theory of Politics'' (1861) * ''Political Addresses'' (1870) * ''Die Wirtschaft des Menschengeschlechts'' (1870–76) * ''Ein Lebenslauf'', an autobiography (1890–1891)

References

Bibliography

* * * Carl Wittke, ''Refugees of Revolution: The German Forty-Eighters in America'', Philadelphia: Univ. of Penn. Press, 1952, pp. 325–326
At archive.org
*Frobel, Julius, ''Amerika, Europa, Und Die Politischen Gesichtspunkte Der Gegenwart'' (1859) (German POD scanned edition), Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2009, *Frobel, Julius, ''Briefe über die Wiener Oktober-Revolution: Mit Notizen über die Letzten Tage Robert Blum's'' (German POD scanned edition),

Nabu Press BiblioBazaar is, with Nabu Press, an imprint of the historical reprints publisher BiblioLife, which is based in Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of ...

, 2010, *Frobel, Julius, ''Theorie der Politik: Als Ergebniss Einer Erneuerten Prüfung Demokratischer Lehrmeinungen'' (German POD scanned edition),

BiblioBazaar BiblioBazaar is, with Nabu Press, an imprint of the historical reprints publisher BiblioLife, which is based in Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of ...

, 2009,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frobel, Julius 1805 births 1893 deaths People from Ilm-Kreis People from Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt German religious humanists Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Jena alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni German-American Forty-Eighters Immigrants to the Republic of Texas Immigrants to Switzerland Consuls for Germany German male journalists 19th-century German journalists 19th-century German geologists 19th-century German male writers