• Date of Birth: December 19, 1791
  • Born City: Jena
  • Born State/Country: Germany
  • Parents: Johann Christoph, professor of theology at Jena, & Eleonore von Eckard D.
  • Date of Death: November 9, 1863
  • Death City: Erlangen
  • Death State/Country: United States
  • Married: Therese Hufeland, 1816; Wilhelmine Custer,1833; Luise von Biarowsky, 1841.
  • Education:

    Study at Munich, 1810-11; Heidelberg, 1811-13; Ph.D., Erlangen, 1813-14; Berlin, 1814.

  • Professional Experience:

    Professor, Bern Academy, 1815-19; rector of the gymnasium, 1819; ordinarius, Erlangen, 1819-27; prof. eloquence, 1827-63.

  • Publications:

    Philologische Beiträge aus der Schweiz, with Johann Heinrich Bremi (1819); Weitere W. Sophoclis Oedipus Coloneus (1825); Lat Synonymen und Etymologien, 6 vols. (1826-38); Lat. Wortbildung(1838); Handbuch der lateinische Synonymik (1839); Handbuch der lateinische Etymologie (1841); Tacitus Annal., Historien und kleine Schriften (1842-7); Homer. Glossarium, 3 vols. (1850-8); Horaz, Satiren und Episteln (1856-9); Homer Ilias (1863).

  • Notes:

    Ludwig Döderlein was educated at Schulpforta (1804-10) then began his university work at Munich under Friedrich Wilhelm Thiersch (1784-1860). At Heidelberg he studied under F. Creuzer (1771-1858), and at Berlin under F.A. Wolf (1759-1824), August Böckh (1785-1867), and Philip Buttmann (1764-1829). Following his doctorate, he dedicated himself to teaching the Greek and Roman word to younger students. His administrative work as rector, his research, in the form of handbooks and translations, and, of course, his teaching, both in university lectures and secondary-level class work were all in the service of his central mission. His three-volume collection of speeches and essays (1843-7) show his pedagogical philosophy. Etymology and synonymity were the objects of his philology, but he was judged by Sandys to be “unduly subtle” and his views often “fanciful.” His editions with translations of the Iliad and Horace’s Satires and Epistles are likewise marked by “eccentricity and lack of method” He is also known for his three-volume reader (1844-7) and his Latin vocabulary, which extended to 20 editions. He maintained correspondence with intellectual and pedagogical leaders of his time.

  • Sources:

    C. Bursian, ADB 5 (1877) 281-2; J. v. Müller (1892); O. Stählin, Lebenssläufe aus Franken III (1927) 68-79; Erlangen Univ. Reden I (1928) 15-19; Sandys, 3:113.

  • Author: Ward Briggs