Oswald Ottendorfer
Encyclopedia
Valentin Oswald Ottendorfer (26 February 1826 Zwittau, Moravia
- 15 December 1900 New York City
) was a United States
journalist
associated with the development of the German-language
New Yorker Staats-Zeitung into a major newspaper.
. There he studied the classics
in the gymnasium
. At the age of 20, he left to study jurisprudence at the University of Vienna
, and then transferred to the University of Prague to learn the Czech language
.
, which at that time was in the possession of Austria
. However, the upheavals at that time enlisted his sympathies. Ottendorfer joined the Von der Tann volunteer corps, and briefly served in the first Schleswig-Holstein War. On returning to Vienna during the Vienna Rebellion, he found the revolutionaries in control of the government, and joined the mobile guard as a 1st lieutenant
. During the storming of the city by government forces in October, he was in the battalion
that was commanded by Robert Blum
.
Many of his fellow revolutionaries were captured or killed. He managed to escape. He was concealed by a friendly porter in a bookstore until the excitement subsided, and then fled to the Bohemia
n frontier, and from there to Saxony
. He subsequently became involved in the 1849 uprisings in Saxony
and Baden
, after the failure of which, he fled to Switzerland
. He briefly considered giving himself up to the government in Vienna, but was informed that would cost him his life, and so went to the United States
.
, he knew Latin, Greek, Hebrew and several Slavic languages
, but no English
, and for two or three months after his arrival, he was able to earn no more than a bare subsistence. Then he found employment in the counting room of the Staats-Zeitung. After the death of its proprietor, Jacob Uhl, in 1852, the management of the paper devolved to his widow, and the services of Ottendorfer became gradually more important. He became editor in 1858, and wed Jacob Uhl's widow, Anna Uhl
, in 1859.
The year of his marriage, he returned to Europe
, but avoided Austria
, though he was assured he would not be bothered there. In 1866, he did visit Austria
.
He was editor and publisher of the Staats-Zeitung from 1859 to 1900; his wife was business manager until her death in 1884. As the German-born population of New York City increased, his journal, in which he endeavored to reflect the sentiments of German-Americans, became one of the most widely circulated and influential in New York.
, but joined no political organization, and maintained an independent position. He was an advocate of civil service
reform, and active in promoting improvements in the public school system. He supported Stephen Douglas in 1860; he was a “Union Democrat” opposed to Fernando Wood
's “Peace Democrats” who were Confederate
sympathizers. From 1872 to 1874 he was an alderman
, and in 1874 a candidate for Mayor of New York City
. Several times he was a presidential elector
.
. On Long Island, New York, he founded a home for aged and indigent men, and established the Ottendorfer Free Library
(now the Ottendorfer Branch of the New York Public Library
system which it joined in the 1890's) on Second Avenue, New York City, at an original cost of $50,000, which was augmented by annual gifts. His wife, Anna Ottendorfer
, was also a noted philanthropist.
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
- 15 December 1900 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) was a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
associated with the development of the German-language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
New Yorker Staats-Zeitung into a major newspaper.
Education
Ottendorfer was the son of a manufacturer, the youngest of six children. He was sent to live with a married sister in BrunnBrunn
Brunn or Brünn may refer to:Places* Brünn, the German form of the Czech city Brno* Brunn, Upper Palatinate, a town in Bavaria, Germany* Brunn, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a municipality in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany...
. There he studied the classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
in the gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
. At the age of 20, he left to study jurisprudence at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
, and then transferred to the University of Prague to learn the Czech language
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
.
Revolutionary
In 1848, he returned to Vienna, intending to finish his studies in PaduaPadua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
, which at that time was in the possession of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. However, the upheavals at that time enlisted his sympathies. Ottendorfer joined the Von der Tann volunteer corps, and briefly served in the first Schleswig-Holstein War. On returning to Vienna during the Vienna Rebellion, he found the revolutionaries in control of the government, and joined the mobile guard as a 1st lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. During the storming of the city by government forces in October, he was in the battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
that was commanded by Robert Blum
Robert Blum
thumb|Painting by August Hunger of Robert Blum between 1845 and 1848Robert Blum was a German democratic politician, publicist, poet, publisher, revolutionist and member of the National Assembly of 1848. In his fight for a strong, unified Germany he opposed ethnocentrism and it was his strong...
.
Many of his fellow revolutionaries were captured or killed. He managed to escape. He was concealed by a friendly porter in a bookstore until the excitement subsided, and then fled to the Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n frontier, and from there to Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. He subsequently became involved in the 1849 uprisings in Saxony
May Uprising in Dresden
The May Uprising took place in Dresden, Germany in 1849; it was one of the last of the series of events known as the Revolutions of 1848.-Events leading to the May Uprising:...
and Baden
History of Baden
The history of Baden as a state began in the 12th century, as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. A fairly inconsequential margraviate that was divided between various branches of its ruling family for much of its history, it gained both status and territory during the Napoleonic era, when it was...
, after the failure of which, he fled to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He briefly considered giving himself up to the government in Vienna, but was informed that would cost him his life, and so went to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Journalism
On his arrival in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he knew Latin, Greek, Hebrew and several Slavic languages
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
, but no English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, and for two or three months after his arrival, he was able to earn no more than a bare subsistence. Then he found employment in the counting room of the Staats-Zeitung. After the death of its proprietor, Jacob Uhl, in 1852, the management of the paper devolved to his widow, and the services of Ottendorfer became gradually more important. He became editor in 1858, and wed Jacob Uhl's widow, Anna Uhl
Anna Ottendorfer
Anna Ottendorfer was a United States journalist and philanthropist. She was associated with the development of the German-language New Yorker Staats-Zeitung into a major newspaper....
, in 1859.
The year of his marriage, he returned to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, but avoided Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, though he was assured he would not be bothered there. In 1866, he did visit Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
He was editor and publisher of the Staats-Zeitung from 1859 to 1900; his wife was business manager until her death in 1884. As the German-born population of New York City increased, his journal, in which he endeavored to reflect the sentiments of German-Americans, became one of the most widely circulated and influential in New York.
Politics
Ottendorfer adhered to the principles of the Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, but joined no political organization, and maintained an independent position. He was an advocate of civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
reform, and active in promoting improvements in the public school system. He supported Stephen Douglas in 1860; he was a “Union Democrat” opposed to Fernando Wood
Fernando Wood
Fernando Wood was an American politician of the Democratic Party and mayor of New York City; he also served as a United States Representative and as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means in both the 45th and 46th Congress .A successful shipping merchant who became Grand Sachem of the...
's “Peace Democrats” who were Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
sympathizers. From 1872 to 1874 he was an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
, and in 1874 a candidate for Mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
. Several times he was a presidential elector
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
.
Philanthropy
Besides other charitable gifts, Ottendorfer gave $300,000 to build and endow an educational institution in his native town in AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. On Long Island, New York, he founded a home for aged and indigent men, and established the Ottendorfer Free Library
Ottendorfer Public Library and Stuyvesant Polyclinic Hospital
Ottendorfer Public Library and Stuyvesant Polyclinic Hospital are two adjoining historic buildings located at 135 and 137 2nd Avenue in the East Village, New York, NY. The buildings were designed by architect William Schickel, and construction began in 1883...
(now the Ottendorfer Branch of the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
system which it joined in the 1890's) on Second Avenue, New York City, at an original cost of $50,000, which was augmented by annual gifts. His wife, Anna Ottendorfer
Anna Ottendorfer
Anna Ottendorfer was a United States journalist and philanthropist. She was associated with the development of the German-language New Yorker Staats-Zeitung into a major newspaper....
, was also a noted philanthropist.
Later years
In later life, Ottendorfer retired from active journalism on account of failing health, and spent most of his time in Europe.External links
- Portrait of Oswald Ottendorfer (from the New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
Digital Gallery) - Biography at Muzeum Svitavy