Jean Baptista von Schweitzer
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and dramatic poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, was born at Frankfurt am Main, of an old aristocratic Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
family.
He studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
in Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
and Heidelberg, and afterwards practised in his native city. He was, however, generally more interested in politics and literature than law.
He was attracted by the social democratic labour movement and after the death of Ferdinand Lassalle
Ferdinand Lassalle
Ferdinand Lassalle was a German-Jewish jurist and socialist political activist.-Early life:Ferdinand Lassalle was born on 11 April 1825 in Breslau , Silesia to a prosperous Jewish family descending from Upper Silesian Loslau...
,
in 1864, he became president of the General Working-men's Union of Germany, and in this capacity edited the Sozialdemokrat, which brought him into frequent trouble with the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n government.
He was arrested and charged with the crime of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
but key people within the Social Democrats, still supported him.
In 1867 he was elected to the parliament of the North German Federation. In 1868, he coined the term "democratic centralization
Democratic centralism
Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
" to describe the structure of his organization. On his failure to secure election to the German Reichstag in 1871, he resigned the presidency of the Labour Union, and retired from political life.
Schweitzer composed a number of dramas and comedies, of which several for a while had considerable success. Among them may be mentioned:
- AlcibiadesAlcibiadesAlcibiades, son of Clinias, from the deme of Scambonidae , was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War...
(Frankfort, 1858) - Friedrich Barbarossa (Frankfort, 1858)
- Canossa (Berlin, 1872)
- Die Darwinianer (Frankfort, 1875)
- Die Eidechse (Frankfort, 1876)
- Epidemisch (Frankfort, 1876)
He also wrote one political novel, Lucinde oder Kapital und Arbeit (Frankfort, 1864).