REICHELT, Hans (Johann). Baden bei Wien 20.4.1877 — Ibid. 11/12.5.1939. Austrian Indo-Iranian Scholar. Professor in Graz. Son of Leo R., the owner of a printing press, and Luise Schemel, educated in his home town. In 1896-98 studied IE, classical, Germanic and Indo-Iranian philology (Bühler et al.) at Vienna, then under Bartholomae at Giessen. Ph.D. 1900 Giessen. After brief military service worked as schoolteacher in Lower Austria and librarian in Giessen. PD 1908 Giessen, für Indogermanistik und vergl. Religionswissenschaft. From 1911 Professor at Czernowitz (now Černivtsi in Ukraina). In 1914 he joined the army as voluntary, but was dismissed as invalid and served in Red Cross. After the war and the closing of Czernowitz university he settled in Innsbruck, in summer 1920 moved to Graz, where he soon succeeded Kirste as ord. Professor. In 1926-29 Professor für Iranistik at Hamburg, but could not stand the climate and returned to Graz in 1930, now as the successor of Meringer. He had good relations with the Nazis and was made Rector of the university, but soon became ill. Died of an attack of angina pectoris.

Reichelt was a thorough and strick IE linguist and a many-sided Iranian scholar (esp. of Avesta and Sogdian), who was also interested in Tocharian and Armenian. Like Meringer he tried to draw cultural information from linguistics. Before his death he was preparing a dictionary of Sogdian. Among his students were W. Brandenstein, A. Closs, O. Hansen and U. Melzer.

Publications: Diss. first part (37 p. Einleitung und Text) of “Der Farhang i oīm”, WZKM 14, 1900, 177-213 & 15, 1901, 117-186.

– “Beiträge zur Geschichte der indogermanischen Konjugation”, BB 27, 1902, 63-105; “Der sekundäre Ablaut”, KZ 39, 1906, 1-80; “Die Labiovelare”, IF 40, 1922, 40-81.

– Awestisches Elementarbuch. 24+516 p. Indogerm. Bibliothek. Heidelberg 1909 (including his 1908 hab. diss. on syntax).

– Avesta Reader. 13+304 p. Strassburg 1911 (90 p. text with notes and glossary).

– “Der steinerne Himmel”, IF 32, 1913, 23-57; “Das Nordarische”, Idg. Jb. 1, 1914, 20-36.

– “Indisch”, Stand und Aufgaben der Sprachwissenschaft. Festschrift für W. Streitberg. Heidelberg 1924, 238ff.; “Iranisch”, Geschichte der idg. Sprachwissenschaft 2:4:2. B. & Lp. 1927, 1-84.

– Die soghdischen Handschriftenreste des Brit. Museums. 1-2. 8+72, 8+80 p. Heidelberg 1928-31.

– Articles on IE, Avestan, Sogdian, Greek, Latin, etc. in BB, ZDMG, IF, WZKM, KZ, Idg. Jb., ZII, W&S, Fss. Modi & Geiger, etc.

Sources: W. Brandenstein, WZKM 46, 1939, 161-164; *F. Lochner von Hüttenbach, Ö.B.L. 9, 1988, 30f.; R. Schmitt, Encyclop. Iranica 2002 with photo photo and N.D.B. 21, 2003, 300f.; German Wikipedia briefly; photo also in F. Lochner von Hüttenbach, DasFach Sprachwissenschaft an der Universität Graz. Graz 1976, 48 and in TITUS Galeria.