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Only edition of this biography of Columbus on the discovery of America, according to the title page, four hundred years earlier by Joachim Heinrich Campe. Originally written in German Columbus was translated into Hebrew by Abraham Menahaem Mehr. The book is in three parts, also describing Cortez and Pissaro’s conquest of parts of America.
Joachim Heinrich Campe (1746-1818) was a popular and prolific writer. He was born on June 29th, 1746 in Deensen, in the county of Holzminden. He was the sixth child from the second marriage of Burchard Hilmar Campe and Anna (Klingemann) Campe. Burchard Hilmar Campe was the illegitimate child of a gentleman farmer and received, as was normal at that time, the family name without the title of nobility. Burchard Hilmar Campe hired a tutor for his children, as the village school didn't have much to offer. His father died when he became fourteen. In order to learn more, he switched to the monastery school of Amelungborn in 1760, which had been moved to Holzminden. In spite of his lack of knowledge in Latin, the school admitted him. He was admitted on the basis of a scholarship from the district of Brunswick. With his student number being 15, you can see that he must have been one of the first students. After graduating from school he began his studies in theology. On the April 20th, 1766, he Helmstedt University. There he joined the "Liberal enlightened student group" of his faculty. This, however, caused him to lose his scholarship. In 1748 he switched to Halle University where he attended class by Semler, an enlightened theologian. After finishing his studies in 1769, Campe started to work as a private tutor of the mayor and chamberlain Alexander Georg v. Humboldt. Later, he educated the sons from Humboldt's second marriage.
Campe married Dorothea Maria Hiller in 1773. In 1774, their only child, Charlotte, was born. In 1776, Joachim Heinrich v. Campe became a preacher in the " Holy Ghost Church" in Potsdam. A little later he left his theological studies due to the overly strict rules he had to follow. Campe became a major representative of the Enlightenment. Reasonable and independent thinking man his guideline. He switched from theology to education, which people at that time had great hope in. Here he showed a lot of talent. In Basedow's school of Philanthropy in Dessau he was introduced to a new way of learning according to age and personal experiences. Live examples should have priority over theory. Arguments with Basedow led Campe to move with his wife and daughter to Hamburg in 1777, where he worked as a teacher again. From 1779-1780 he published his version of "Robinson Crusoe" which he called "Robinson der Jüngere". There were over 100 editions and the book was translated into 20 different languages. During his five-year stay in Hamburg he made contact with people like Klopstock, Claudius, Voß and Lessing.In 1783 he switched to "Holsteinische Trittau" due to stress. There, between 1785 and 1792, he published "Allgemeine Revision des gesamten Schul-und Erziehungswesens" in 16 books. In 1786, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, hired him as a specialist to reform the local educational institutions. From then on, the headmaster had control over the whole institution and was answerable only to the duke. This school system was the first to be made public in Brunswick. However, it resulted in many important local people their influence. They opposed the reformation which, in the end, failed. The old ratios were then re-established. The French Revolution in 1789 played a major role in Campe's life. His keen interest in it was shown in "the letters from Paris".Klopstock, Schiller, Kant, Hegel and Wieland shared his enthusiasm. Klopstock, Julius Campe was awarded the French honorary citizenship in 1792. The radical nature of the Revolution led to animosity among its advocates. Campe clearly dissociated himself from radicalism. For Germany aspired to "changes reforms", therefore he had problems with the ducal authority.
From 1790 onwards Campe published essays on this topic. From 1807-1811, his "dictionary of the German language" came out in five parts. Many foreign words were incorporated into the German language according to his suggestion. On October 22nd,1818, Joachim Heinrich Campe died in Brunswick.
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