HAAS, Ernst Anton Max. Coburg 18.4.1835 — London 3.7.1882. German Indologist in London. Son of Friedrich Haas. After school in Coburg studies of Germanic and Romance philology at Berlin and Bonn. Through comparative linguistics he became interested in Sanskrit and went to Tübingen to study under Roth, then also Weber’s student at Berlin. Ph.D. 1859 Tübingen. After two years of further study in Paris and three years as a tutor in Lord Minto’s family in Scotland came in 1866 to British Museum, where he was Keeper of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts until his death. In 1870-76 he compiled together with Eggeling the (first unpublished) catalogue of Sanskrit manuscripts at India Office. In 1875 succeeded Eggeling as Professor of Sanskrit at University College of London (a honorary chair). In British Museum he worked hard at cataloguing work, concluded after his death by Blumhardt. Died after a long illness, was succeeded in British Museum and at University College by Bendall. Married 1872 Alma Holländer (1845–1932), a pianist and music teacher, one daughter and one son.
Haas was reputed to be extremely learned and many-sided, but he did not publish much. Unlike many colleagues he was also interested in modern Indian languages. He was among the pioneers of Āyurvedic studies (Caraka and Suśruta) in the West. His theory, however, of a late (950-1450 CE) Western (Islamic) origin of the Indian system is completely unacceptable. Even the name Suśruta he derived through Arabic from Hippocrates.
Publications: Diss. 1859 publ. as “Die Heiratsgebräuche der alten Inder, nach Gṛhyasūtra”, Indische Studien 5, 1862, 267-412.
– Catalogue of the Sanskrit and Pali Books in the British Museum. 188 p. L. 1876.
– “Über die Ursprung der Indischen Medizin mit besonderem Bezug auf Suśruta”, ZDMG 30, 1876, 617-670; “Hippokrates und die indische Medizin der Mittelalters”, ZDMG 31, 1877, 647-666.
– With J. Eggeling Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts of the India Office. 1-7. L. 1886-1904 (the part prepared by Haas and revised by Eggeling 1896ff.).
Sources: Stache-Rosen 1990, 80; Windisch 362f.; JRAS 15, 1883, Proc. xxiif. Not in A.D.B., N.D.B., D.N.B.; family details and dates in genealogieonline.nl.
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