Albrecht Weber

Albrecht Friedrich Weber (17 February 1825 – 30 November 1901) was a German Indologist and historian.^[1]

He was born in Breslau, where his father was a professor of political economy. He studied in that town, Bonn, and in Berlin, 1842-1845, busying himself especially with literature and Sanskrit archaeology. He received a doctor's degree at Breslau. In 1846, he visited England and France in connection with his studies. On his return to Germany, he went to the University of Berlin, where he was privatdocent, and in 1856 became an adjunct professor of the language and literature of ancient India. In 1867 he was made full professor. He was a member of the Academy of Sciences of Berlin, and was the author of many books and periodical contributions on classical subjects. He was a close friend of Max Müller

He might be one of the earliest Indologists who emphasized the social philosophy of Buddhism. In his opinion "Buddhism is, in its origin, one of the most magnificent and radical reactions in favour of the universal human rights of the individual against the oppressing tyranny of the pretended privileges of divine origin, of birth, and of class."

Weber died in Berlin.^[2]

Works

• Indische Studien, 1849–85
• Weiße Jadschurveda, London 1849-1859 (3 Bde.)
• Schwarze Jadschurveda, Leipzig 1871-1872
• Tscharanawyuha. Übersicht über die Schulen der Vedas, Berlin 1855
• Akademische Vorlesungen über indische Litteraturgeschichte, Berlin, 1852; 2d ed. 1876 (translated by Zachariae and Mann, London, 1878)
• a translation of Kalidasa's drama Mālavikā und Agnimitra, 1856
• Indische Skizzen, Berlin 1857
• Indische Streifen, Berlin 1868-1879 (3 vols.)
• Verzeichnis der Sanskrithandschriften der königlichen Bibliothek zu Berlin, Berlin 1853-1892
• Über das Catrunjaya des Mahâtmyam, Leipzig 1858
• an edition of Hala's Saptasataka, 1881

He also contributed much lexicographical material, especially from Vedic literature, to the Sanskrit-Wörterbuch of Otto von Böhtlingk and Rudolf Roth.

Notes

1. Bendall, C. (7 December 1901). "Obituary: Prof. Albrecht Weber". The Athenæum (No. 3867): 774.
2. Tola Fernando, Dragonetti Carmen (2013). Brahminism and Buddhism Two Antithetic Conceptions of Society in Ancient India. New Delhi, India: Critical Quest. p. 1. ISBN 978-81-89524-97-5.

References

•  Gilman, D. C.; Thurston, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Weber, Albrecht". New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.