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Wilhelm von Humboldt
Prussian philosopher, government official, diplomat, and educator (1767–1835) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (/ˈhʌmboʊlt/,[3] also US: /ˈhʊmboʊlt/,[4] UK: /ˈhʌmbɒlt/;[5] German: [ˈvɪlhɛlm fɔn ˈhʊmbɔlt];[6][7][8] 22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a German philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1949, the university was named after him and his younger brother, Alexander von Humboldt, a naturalist.
Wilhelm von Humboldt | |
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![]() Portrait by Thomas Lawrence | |
Born | (1767-06-22)22 June 1767 |
Died | 8 April 1835(1835-04-08) (aged 67) Tegel, Prussia |
Education | University of Frankfurt (Oder) University of Göttingen |
Spouse | Caroline von Dacheröden |
Era | 19th-century philosophy |
Region | Western philosophy |
School | Berlin Romanticism[1] Romantic linguistics[2] Classical liberalism |
Institutions | University of Berlin |
Main interests | Philosophy of language |
Notable ideas | Language as a rule-governed system ("the inner form of language") Humboldtian model of higher education |
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He was a linguist who made contributions to the philosophy of language, ethnolinguistics, and to the theory and practice of education. He made a major contribution to the development of liberalism by envisioning education as a means of realizing individual possibility rather than a way of drilling traditional ideas into youth to suit them for an already established occupation or social role.[9] In particular, he was the architect of the Humboldtian education ideal, which was used from the beginning in Prussia as a model for its system of public education, as well as in the United States and Japan. He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1822.[10]