PHILOSOPHER

Wilhelm von Humboldt

1767 - 1835

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Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a German philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1949, the university was named after him and his younger brother, Alexander von Humboldt, a naturalist. He was a linguist who made contributions to the philosophy of language, ethnolinguistics, and to the theory and practice of education. He made a major contribution to the development of liberalism by envisioning education as a means of realizing individual possibility rather than a way of drilling traditional ideas into youth to suit them for an already established occupation or social role. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Wilhelm von Humboldt is the 110th most popular philosopher (down from 108th in 2019), the 159th most popular biography from Germany (down from 144th in 2019) and the 16th most popular German Philosopher.

Wilhelm von Humboldt is most famous for his work in linguistics, philosophy, and education. He was a professor of philology at the University of Berlin and one of the first proponents of the idea that language is an organic part of culture.

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Wilhelm von Humboldt ranks 110 out of 1,267. Before him are Boethius, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, George Gurdjieff, Apollodorus of Athens, Jeremy Bentham, and Antisthenes. After him are Emil Cioran, Bodhidharma, John Scotus Eriugena, Gilles Deleuze, Meister Eckhart, and Padmasambhava.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1767, Wilhelm von Humboldt ranks 3. Before him are Andrew Jackson, and Joachim Murat. After him are John Quincy Adams, Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, John VI of Portugal, Jean-Baptiste Say, Benjamin Constant, Duchess Elisabeth of Württemberg, Maria Theresa of Austria, August Wilhelm Schlegel, and Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. Among people deceased in 1835, Wilhelm von Humboldt ranks 3. Before him are Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Vincenzo Bellini. After him are Édouard Mortier, Duke of Trévise, Antoine-Jean Gros, Auguste, Duke of Leuchtenberg, Thérésa Tallien, Catharina of Württemberg, Izabela Czartoryska, Alexander McDonnell, Guillaume Dupuytren, and John Nash.

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In Germany

Among people born in Germany, Wilhelm von Humboldt ranks 159 out of 7,253. Before him are Friedrich Wöhler (1800), Theodor W. Adorno (1903), Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742), Hans Adolf Krebs (1900), Friedrich Hölderlin (1770), and Lothair I (795). After him are Walter Gropius (1883), Queen Silvia of Sweden (1943), Agrippina the Younger (15), George I of Great Britain (1660), Alfred Jodl (1890), and Meister Eckhart (1260).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In Germany

Among philosophers born in Germany, Wilhelm von Humboldt ranks 16. Before him are Ludwig Feuerbach (1804), Rudolf Christoph Eucken (1846), Jürgen Habermas (1929), Carl von Clausewitz (1780), Walter Benjamin (1892), and Friedrich Fröbel (1782). After him are Meister Eckhart (1260), Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900), Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776), Baron d'Holbach (1723), Wilhelm Dilthey (1833), and Edith Stein (1891).

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