BECKER, Christophorus (born Christoph Edmund B.). Elsoff near Frankfurt 22.10.1875 — Würzburg 30.3.1937. S.D.S. German Catholic Missionary in India and Scholar of Missiology and Indian Ethnography. A Salvatorian from the age of 14. Studied philosophy and theology in Rome, dr.theol. and ordained priest 1898. Docent 1900 in Meran. Also Dr.phil.…
BECHTEL, Fritz (Friedrich). Durlach 2.2.1855 — Halle 9.3.1924. German IE Scholar. Professor in Göttingen and Halle. Son of Johann Friedrich Bechtel, a deacon, and Emilie Harrer. After a brief time of theology in Heidelberg studied at Göttingen IE linguistics under Benfey, Bezzenberger, A. Fick, et al. Ph.D. 1876 Göttingen, then…
BAYER, Theophilus (Gottlieb) Siegfried. Königsberg 5/6.1.1694 — St.Petersburg 10.2.1738. German Orientalist and Historian, from Königsberg, was elected to the Imperial Russian Academy of Sciences and moved to St.Petersburg. In Russian his name is variously spelled as Beer, Beèr, and Bajer’. Son of painter Johann Friedrich Bayer and Anna Katharina Porath,…
BAUNACK, Paul Theodor. Trebsen bei Grimma (east of Leipzig) 21.2.1861 — Leipzig 3.9.1932. German Philologist and Indo-Iranian Scholar. Teacher in Leipzig. Son of school inspector Gottlob Franz Baunack, brother of —> Johannes Baunack (1854–1928). After school in Leipzig studied from 1880 at Leipzig classics, linguistics and Sanskrit (under Curtius, Brockhaus,…
BAUNACK, Johannes Fürchtegott. Trebsen bei Grimma (east of Leipzig) 22.12.1854 — 1928. German Philologist. Son of school inspector Gottlob Franz Baunack, brother of —> Theodor Baunack (1861–1932). Attended Leipzig. Gymnasium 1866-74, then studied classical philology, IE linguistics and Indo-Iranian languages at Leipzig University under i.al. Curtius, Zarncke, Brockhaus and Kuhn.…
BASTIAN, Philipp Wilhelm Adolf. Bremen 26.6.1826 — Port-of-Spain, Trinidad 2.2.1905. Catholic German Anthropologist, Psychologist, and Traveller, a pioneer of South-east Asian studies. Born in a merchant family, son of Hermann Theodor Bassus (1796–1866) and Auguste Krafft. Studied biology and medicine at Berlin, Jena, Würzburg (under Virchow) and Prague (dr. med.…
BARUCH, Willy. Herford, Kr. Detmold 1900 — Montfavet, Avignon ?.3.1954. German Indologist, Sinologist, Tibetan, Buddhist and Central Asian Scholar. Born of a Jewish family in Westfalen. Studies at Berlin and Leipzig, student of Lüders and F. Weller, then of Kirfel at Bonn. Ph.D. 1937 Bonn. Leaving Germany he was living…
BARTUS, Theodor. Lassan near Greifswald 30.1.1858 — Berlin 28.1.1941. German, Assistant to the Berlin Ethnological Museum, participated in all four Prussian Turfan expeditions 1902–14. Son of a Pomeranian weaver, he had been a sailor and a squatter in Australian outback, but returned to Germany and, after losing his money in…
BARTHOLOMAE, Friedrich Christian Leonhard. Forsthaus in Forstleithen bei Limmersdorf, Landkreis Kulmbach 21.1.1855 — Langeoog, Ostfriesland 9.8.1925. German IE and Iranian Scholar. Professor in Münster, Giessen, and Heidelberg. Son of a forester (Oberforster) Leonhard B. (d. 1859) and Maria Friederike Aichinger. Gymnasium in Bayreuth. From 1872 studied IE, Indian and Iranian…
BANNERTH, Ernst. Eilenburg, Sachsen 13.10.1895 — Cairo 29.4.1976. German Urdu and Islamic Scholar and Catholic priest. Educated in Leipzig, 1913 became professional officer and 1916 sent to Near East. British war prisoner 1917-20 in India, then joined Benedictines and studied theology at Vienna. Ordained priest 1930. Dr.theol. 1941 Vienna. Worked…