WEIGLE, Gottfried Hartmann. Esslingen-Zell am Neckar 1.6.1816 — Mangalore 7.1.1855. German Missionary in India, member of Basel Mission. Characterized as a linguist. Son of a minister, Karl Christian Hartmann W. (d. 1834) and Johanna Rosina Werner (d. 182?), school in Stuttgart. Studied at Urach Seminary 1830-34, then theology (but also Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian with Ewald) at Tübingen, where he met Ogling. Joined the mission in 1838. In 1840-55 worked in Karnataka, mainly in Mangalore and Dharwar, in collaboration with Gundert and Mögling. Married with Pauline Franziska Bacmeister (1825–1862), four children. After his death the widow married Mögling.

Publications: Christian texts translated into Kannaḍa, including parts of the Bible.

– With J. Stevenson, “A collection of words in the language of the Todas, the Chief Tribe of the Nílgiri Hills”, JBRAS 1:4, 1842, 155-167 (collected by GW, publ. by JSt).

– “Über kanaresische Sprache und Literatur”, ZDMG 2, 1848, 257-284; “Kanaresische Gedichte”, Mag. für die neueste Gesch. der evang. Miss. Ges. Basel 1854:1, 94-102.

Sources: Brückner et al. 2003, 48-51; K. F. Ledderhose, A.D.B. 41, 1896, 483f.; *H. Mögling, Memoir of the late Rev. G. Weigle, missionary of the German Evangelical Mission at Mangalore. Madras 1855; German Wikipedia with portrait.