MÜLLER, Friedrich Wilhelm Karl. Neudamm near Frankfurt a.d. Oder 21.1.1863 — Berlin 18.4.1930. German Central Asian Scholar. Museum Director in Berlin. In 1873 the family moved to Berlin, where he attended Französisches Gymnasium (as also Le Coq), and from 1883 studied at Berlin University theology and Oriental languages (under Sachau and Grube). Ph.D. 1889 Leipzig. Theology had led him to Semitic, but soon he also became interested in East Asia and then in everything lying between. From 1887 Hilfsarbeiter in the just-founded Museum für Völkerkunde (under Bastian), from 1896 Direktorialassistent, from 1906 Director of Ostasiatische Abteilung. Title of Professor 1906. Retired in 1928. Mainly engaged in the duties of organization and administration, but in 1901 he travelled in China, Japan and Korea collecting material for the Museum. Berlin A.W. 1904. Married, finally widower.

Müller started his major study, the interpretation of Turfan fragments, only after his election to Prussian Academy in 1905. He was a polyglot who knew many Semitic and Indo-European languages, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish and Malay (Wikipedia adds Korean, Samoan and Batak). His competence in Chinese was deemed excellent and he knew closely the Chinese Buddhist canon. His Handschriften-Reste started the study of Manichaic literature in Sogdian and Uigur. In 1916 he founded the Tocharian hypothesis. He led a hermit’s life avoiding contact even with colleagues with the exception of a few close friends. W. Lentz and A. von Gabain were his disciples.

Publications: Diss. Die Chronologie des Simeon Šanqlâwâyâ nach den drei Berliner Handschriften dargestellt. 1889 (Syriac).

– “Vocabularien der Pa-Yi- und Pah-Poh-Sprachen, aus dem ‘hua-i-yi-yü’ veröffentlicht”, TP 3, 1892, 1-38.

– Beschreibung einer von G. Meissner zusammengestellten Batak-Sammlung. Mit sprachlichen und sachlichen Erläuterungen. 94 p. Veröff. aus d. Kgl. Mus. für Völkerkunde zu Berlin 3:1-2. B. 1893; “Die sechs ersten Erzählungen des Piśâcaprakaranam”, ZDMG 48, 1894, 198-217; “Einiges über No-Masken”, TP 8, 1897, 1-52.

– “Handschriftenreste in Estrangeloschrift aus Turban”, 117 p. ABeAW 1904; “Eine Hermas-Stelle in manich. Version”, SBeAW 1905, 1077-1083; “Die ‘persischen’ Kalenderausdrücke im chinesischen Tripiṭaka”, SBeAW 1907:1, 458-465.

– With E. Sieg, “Maitrisimit und ‘Tocharisch’”, SBeAW 1916, 395-417.

– “Toxrï and Kuišan (Küšän)”, SBeAW 1918:1, 566-586, 2 pl.

– Uigurica. I. 60 p. A.Be.A.W. 1908 (Christian); II. 110 p. A.Be.A.W. 1910 (Buddhist); III. Avadāna-Bruchstücke. 93 p. ABeA.Be.A.W.AW 1920:2; IV. with A. von Gabain, SBeAW 1931, 675-727 (more Avadānas).

– Ein Doppelblatt aus einem manichäischen Hymnenbuch (Mahrnâmag). 40 p. ABeAW 1912.

– Soghdische Texte. 111 p. A.Be.A.W. 1912:2; II. ed. by W. Lentz, SBeAW 1934, 504-607.

– Small Sogdian fragments in SBeAW 1907:1, 260-270; 1909, 726-730; 1925, 370-372; 1926, 2-8; Uigurian in A.Be.A.W. 1915, 38 p. & SBeAW 1928, 8 p.; further short articles.

Sources: *D. Durkin-Meisterernst, Encyclop. Iranica 2004; E. Erkes, Art. As. 3, 1928/29, 240f.; *S.F. Ol’denburg, Izv.A.N.SSR 7th ser. 1930:6, 377-382; P. Pelito, TP 27, 1930, 239-241; E.D. Ross, JRAS 1930, 967-969; Stache-Rosen 1990, 150; H. Walravens, N.D.B. 18, 1997, 381f.; *F. Weller, B. Schindler & F.M. Trautz, AM 2, 1925, vii-xvi with photo and bibliography; TP 27, 1930; Wikipedia (more in German version); photo in Pedersen 1959, 193.

*Aloïs van Tongerloo & Michael Knüppel, “Einige Briefe F.W.K. Müllers an F.C. Andreas aus den Jahren 1904–1910”, ZDMG 165, 2015, 417-440.