Rudolph Zacharias Becker (8 April 1752See

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datase
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Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

– 28 March 1822 in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

) was a German educator and author.

Biography

He studied theology at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

. As instructor at the Basedow “

Philanthropinum The Philanthropinum (''from Greek: φίλος = friend, and άνθρωπος = human'') was a reformist, progressive school in Dessau, Germany from 1774 to 1793. It was based on the principles of philanthropinism, an educational movement developed ...

,” at

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, he founded a journal entitled ''Dessauische Zeitung für die Jugend und ihre Freunde'', which he afterwards continued at Gotha (1784), under the title of ''Deutsche Zeitung für die Jugend'', and which in 1796 was published as the ''Nationalzeitung der Deutschen''. In consequence of an article in the latter publication, he was arrested for conspiring against

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by the

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, and imprisoned at

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for 17 months. He described his experiences during that period in the narrative entitled ''Beckers Leiden und Freuden in 17monatlicher französischer Gefangenschaft'' (Becker's Trials and Joys during 17 months of French imprisonment; 1814). He contributed to German art with his edition of ''Holzschnitte alter deutscher Meister'' (Woodcuts of old German masters; 1808–16). One of his publications, bearing the title of ''Not- und Hilfsbüchlein für Bauerleute, oder lehrreiche Freuden- und Trauergeschichte des Dorfes Mildheim'' (A Little Book of Needful Help, or Instructive Tales of Joy and Sorrow in the Village of Mildheim; Gotha, 1787–1798), became exceedingly popular. Over 500,000 copies were soon disposed of. He also produced other works and journals, and the extensive transactions in them led him, in 1797, to set up a publishing and bookselling establishment at Gotha, which was continued by his son, Friedrich Gottlieb Becker (1792–1865).

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Rudolph Zacharias 1752 births 1822 deaths 18th-century German writers Writers from Jena People from the Electorate of Mainz German Lutherans 18th-century German educators German autobiographers University of Jena alumni German male non-fiction writers German prisoners and detainees