Otto von Corvin
Encyclopedia
Otto Julius Bernhard von Corvin-Wiersbitzki (12 October 1812 – 2 March 1886) was a German
author.
) to the Rittmeister
, and later director of the postal administration, of Gumbinnen Friedrich August Heinrich von Corvin-Wiersbitzki. His parents divorced in his childhood and after his father's death in 1822 Corvin was raised by his mother, who had moved to Halberstadt
. He attended military school in Potsdam
and Berlin-Lichterfelde
, eventually becoming a lieutenant in the Prussian Army
.
He left the military in 1835 to devote himself to writing. His novels and dramas did not attract notice, but a book of instruction on swimming — he was very talented in this area having organized the swimming pool at his army post and taught the people there how to dive and swim — was quite popular. He also founded magazines on outdoor life and horses, the first of their kind in Germany, and they did well. With this success, he was able to marry. In Leipzig, he put out a sports almanac for 1844 and Taschenbuch für Jäger und Naturfreunde (Handbook for Hunters and Friends of Nature).
His circle of friends crystallized into the first literary club in Germany, and they waged a small war against the police and bureaucracy. An enthusiastic Protestant, he wrote historical studies of which Historische Denkmale des christlichen Fanatismus (Historical Monuments to Christian Fanaticism; 1845) is a typical title. This particular book was released in conjunction with the inauguration of the German Catholic movement in Leipzig, and was later republished as Der Pfaffenspiegel (1869) and supplemented by Die Geissler (3d ed., 1892-1893). A political magazine, Die Locomotive, was shut down by the government censors. His Illustrirte Weltgeschichte für das Volk (Popular Illustrated History of the World) did very well. In search of an effective and cheap reproduction technology for the illustrations in his History, he developed a process eventually called "Corviniello," later fine-tuned while he was in prison, which became widely used.
In 1848
, he fought in the barricades in the French uprising. The French provisional government then offered him generous support for democratic uprisings in Germany, however his offer to the Frankfurt parliament
to form a national army was sharply rebuffed. In 1848-1849, after participating in the Berlin uprising, he took part in the Baden revolt, first as a colonel of militia under Mieroslawski in Mannheim
, then as chief of the general staff in Rastatt
. In Rastatt, he along with many others, found himself trapped there on June 30 by the Prussia
ns. In September 1849, a court martial condemned him to death, but the sentence was commuted to six years' solitary confinement, which he passed at Bruchsal
.
On his release, he went to London where he taught German and worked for Charles Dickens
on All the year round
and Household Words
. In 1857 in Soden, he finished the memoirs of his prison experience. An attempted return to Germany at Hamburg
was frustrated by police chicanery, and he returned to London, his memoirs finally being published in 1861 in Amsterdam. That year he traveled to the United States of America to cover the Civil War
for The Times and Augsburg Allgemeinen Zeitung, returning to Berlin in 1867 as a special correspondent for the New York Times.
In Berlin, the Corvins lived with Prince Felix Salm
and his wife Agnes Salm-Salm
, whom they had met in America. Corvin edited the Salms' memoirs of Mexico and Emperor Maximilian
. He covered the Franco-Prussian War
for the Vienna
Neue Freie Presse, and papers in America, London and Germany. His experiences are described in his book In France with the Germans (1872). In 1878, he founded an association of German writers in Leipzig.
He died in 1886 in Wiesbaden
.
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...
author.
Biography
Corvin was born in Gumbinnen (PrussiaPrussia
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...
) to the Rittmeister
Rittmeister
Rotamaster was the military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in charge of a squadron , the equivalent of O3 or Captain, in the German-speaking armies, Austro-Hungarian, Polish-Lithuanian, Russian and some other states.The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different...
, and later director of the postal administration, of Gumbinnen Friedrich August Heinrich von Corvin-Wiersbitzki. His parents divorced in his childhood and after his father's death in 1822 Corvin was raised by his mother, who had moved to Halberstadt
Halberstadt
Halberstadt is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the capital of the district of Harz. It is located on the German Half-Timbered House Road and the Magdeburg–Thale railway....
. He attended military school in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
and Berlin-Lichterfelde
Lichterfelde (Berlin)
Lichterfelde is a locality in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin, Germany. Until 2001 it was part, with Steglitz and Lankwitz of the former Steglitz borough.-History:...
, eventually becoming a lieutenant in the Prussian Army
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...
.
He left the military in 1835 to devote himself to writing. His novels and dramas did not attract notice, but a book of instruction on swimming — he was very talented in this area having organized the swimming pool at his army post and taught the people there how to dive and swim — was quite popular. He also founded magazines on outdoor life and horses, the first of their kind in Germany, and they did well. With this success, he was able to marry. In Leipzig, he put out a sports almanac for 1844 and Taschenbuch für Jäger und Naturfreunde (Handbook for Hunters and Friends of Nature).
His circle of friends crystallized into the first literary club in Germany, and they waged a small war against the police and bureaucracy. An enthusiastic Protestant, he wrote historical studies of which Historische Denkmale des christlichen Fanatismus (Historical Monuments to Christian Fanaticism; 1845) is a typical title. This particular book was released in conjunction with the inauguration of the German Catholic movement in Leipzig, and was later republished as Der Pfaffenspiegel (1869) and supplemented by Die Geissler (3d ed., 1892-1893). A political magazine, Die Locomotive, was shut down by the government censors. His Illustrirte Weltgeschichte für das Volk (Popular Illustrated History of the World) did very well. In search of an effective and cheap reproduction technology for the illustrations in his History, he developed a process eventually called "Corviniello," later fine-tuned while he was in prison, which became widely used.
In 1848
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
, he fought in the barricades in the French uprising. The French provisional government then offered him generous support for democratic uprisings in Germany, however his offer to the Frankfurt parliament
Frankfurt Parliament
The Frankfurt Assembly was the first freely elected parliament for all of Germany. Session was held from May 18, 1848 to May 31, 1849 in the Paulskirche at Frankfurt am Main...
to form a national army was sharply rebuffed. In 1848-1849, after participating in the Berlin uprising, he took part in the Baden revolt, first as a colonel of militia under Mieroslawski in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, then as chief of the general staff in Rastatt
Rastatt
Rastatt is a city and baroque residence in the District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50'000...
. In Rastatt, he along with many others, found himself trapped there on June 30 by 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...
ns. In September 1849, a court martial condemned him to death, but the sentence was commuted to six years' solitary confinement, which he passed at Bruchsal
Bruchsal
Bruchsal is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
.
On his release, he went to London where he taught German and worked for Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
on All the year round
All the Year Round
All the Year Round was a Victorian periodical, being a British weekly literary magazine founded and owned by Charles Dickens, published between 1859 and 1895 throughout the United Kingdom. Edited by Dickens, it was the direct successor to his previous publication Household Words, abandoned due to...
and Household Words
Household Words
Household Words was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens in the 1850s which took its name from the line from Shakespeare "Familiar in his mouth as household words" — Henry V.-History:...
. In 1857 in Soden, he finished the memoirs of his prison experience. An attempted return to Germany at Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
was frustrated by police chicanery, and he returned to London, his memoirs finally being published in 1861 in Amsterdam. That year he traveled to the United States of America to cover the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
for The Times and Augsburg Allgemeinen Zeitung, returning to Berlin in 1867 as a special correspondent for the New York Times.
In Berlin, the Corvins lived with Prince Felix Salm
Felix Salm-Salm
-Life:Felix Constantin Alexander Johan Nepomuk, prince Salm Salm, was born in Anholt, Prussia, 25 December 1828. Felix was the son of the reigning Prince zu Salm Salm. He grew up training to be a soldier at a cadet-school in Berlin, Germany and soon became an officer in the Prussian cavalry...
and his wife Agnes Salm-Salm
Agnes Salm-Salm
Agnes Elisabeth Winona Leclerc Joy - known as Princess Salm-Salm . She was born in Franklin, Vermont, the daughter of the American General William Leclerc Joy and Julia Willard . Her grandfather on her father's side was Mica Joy who married Mercy Terrill...
, whom they had met in America. Corvin edited the Salms' memoirs of Mexico and Emperor Maximilian
Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...
. He covered the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
for the Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
Neue Freie Presse, and papers in America, London and Germany. His experiences are described in his book In France with the Germans (1872). In 1878, he founded an association of German writers in Leipzig.
He died in 1886 in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
.