Reginald John Hollingdale (20 October 1930 – 28 September 2001) was a British biographer and translator of German philosophy and literature, especially the works of

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

, E. T. A. Hoffmann, G. C. Lichtenberg, and Schopenhauer.

Life and career

"Reg" Hollingdale dropped out of Bec Grammar School,

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...

at the age of 16 in order to become a journalist, working in a junior position for a

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

newspaper. He was called up to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

at a young age in the late 1940s, as part of his

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, for two years before returning to journalism. After paying his way through private German lessons, and immersing himself in German literature and philosophy, Hollingdale earned the respect of readers and academics with his translations and studies of German cultural figures. Despite not possessing a degree, Hollingdale was elected president of a scholarly society, and was a visiting scholar at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

in 1991–1992. He also worked as a sub-editor at ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and as a critic for ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

''. Hollingdale was elected President of The Friedrich Nietzsche Society in 1989. Along with Walter Kaufmann, he was responsible for rehabilitating Nietzsche's reputation in the English-speaking world after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Hollingdale was an atheist. He had two children, James and Frances.

Partial bibliography

Original works

*''Nietzsche: The Man and his Philosophy'' (1965; 2nd rvd. edn., 2001) *''

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

: A Critical Study'' (1973) *''A Nietzsche Reader'' (1978) *''Western Philosophy: An Introduction'' (1994)

Translations

*''Essays and Aphorisms'', selections from '' Parerga and Paralipomena'', by Arthur Schopenhauer (1973) *'' Elective Affinities'', by Goethe (1978) *''Tales of Hoffmann'', by E. T. A. Hoffmann (1982) *''Aphorisms'', by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1990) ; (Reprinted as ''The Waste Books'' 2000) As composed or published by Friedrich Nietzsche in chronological order: *'' The Untimely Meditations'' (1983) *'' Human, All-Too-Human: A Book for Free Spirits'' (1986) *'' Daybreak'' (1982) *''

Thus Spoke Zarathustra ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None'' (), also translated as ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'', is a work of philosophical fiction written by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche; it was published in four volumes between 1883 and 1885. ...

: A Book for Everyone and No One (1961).'' *''

Beyond Good and Evil ''Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future'' () is a book by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche that covers ideas in his previous work ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' but with a more polemical approach. It was first published in 1886 ...

: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future'' (1973) *''

On the Genealogy of Morals ''On the Genealogy of Morality: A Polemic'' (; sometimes also translated as ''On the Genealogy of Morals'') is an 1887 book by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It consists of a preface and three interrelated treatises ('Abhandlungen' in Ge ...

'' (with Walter Kaufmann) (1967) *'' Twilight of the Idols'' / '' The Antichrist'' (1968) *'' Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is'' (1986) *''

The Will to Power The will to power () is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. The will to power describes what Nietzsche may have believed to be the main driving force in humans. However, the concept was never systematically defined in Nietzsche's ...

'' (with Walter Kaufmann) (1967) *'' Dithyrambs of Dionysus'' (2001)

References

External links

*
Obituary in The Guardian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollingdale, Reginald John English translators English biographers English atheists 1930 births 2001 deaths Writers from the London Borough of Lambeth People from Streatham 20th-century British biographers 20th-century British translators Translators of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Translators of Friedrich Nietzsche Nietzsche scholars