Siegfried August Mahlmann (May 13, 1771 – December 16, 1826) was a German

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

. Mahlmann was born in

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 ...

, and studied law at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

. In his early life, he served as private tutor to a young nobleman, whom he accompanied to

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

and then on a trip through northern Europe. From 1799 he became a bookseller, writer, and editor. From 1806 to 1816 he edited the journal ''Zeitung für die elegante Welt'', and from 1810 to 1818 the newspaper ''Leipziger Zeitung'', the latter of which resulted in his brief imprisonment in 1813 by the French during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, in the fortress of

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

. Among his writings are a novel, ''Albano der Lautenspieler'' (1802), a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

of August von Kotzebue's ''Die Hussiten vor Naumburg'' (1803), and various

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

. His poetry was quite popular in the 19th century, and was published in a collection in 1825, and again posthumously in 8 volumes in 1839–40, and 3 volumes in 1859. The poems " Sehnsucht" (1802) and "Weinlied" (1808) were his most popular. In addition, he adapted the lyrics of "

God Save the King "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is ''de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of national anthems of New Zealand, two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle ...

" for the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

, as " Gott segne Sachsenland" ("God Save Saxony"). He later studied the

natural sciences 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 ...

and

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

, and was appointed director of the Leipzig Economic Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahlmann, Siegfried August 1771 births 1826 deaths German editors German poets Writers from Leipzig German male poets 18th-century German novelists