Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel

Hippel, Theodor Gottlieb von (Gerdauen, East Prussia, 1741-96, Königsberg), the son of a headmaster, began to study theology at Königsberg University in 1756. After two years' intermission (1760-2), first as companion to a Russian officer and then as a private tutor, he returned to the university to study law, qualifying in 1765. From these early years date two com-edies, the instantly popular one-act Der Mann nach der Uhr (1765; the title refers to Kant or to his friend Green), which won Lessing's praise, and Die ungewöhnlichen Nebenbuhler (1768), and some poetry. He expressed his pietist sentiments in Geistliche Lieder (1772) and, promoting his advancement, held office with the freemasons (Freimäurerreden, 1768). In 1772 Hippel entered the administration of Königsberg, being appointed mayor (Erster Bürgermeister) and chief of police in 1780. He received various honours, including the title Stadtpräsident in 1786, and amassed a fortune. In 1791 he received a patent of nobility, which was intended as a restoration, for the family was supposed to be of noble descent. Hippel, an eccentric who combined religious sentimentality with sharp common sense, is best known for his novel Lebensläufe nach aufsteigender Linie (4 vols. 1778-81), a whimsical disguised autobiography. His equally ironical second novel Kreuz- und Querzüge des Ritters A. bis Z. (1793-4) was less successful. A kind of Bildungsroman, it reflects the enthusiasm of the time for exclusive societies devoted to enlightenment and good works, but it is also directed against the excesses of freemasonry. In both of these works of fiction he was influenced by Sterne. Although Hippel remained a bachelor, he is the author of an essay on marriage, Über die Ehe (1774), the final revised version of which appeared almost simultaneously with a later essay, Über die bürgerliche Verbesserung der Weiber (1792), advocating equality in the spirit of contemporary campaigns for emancipation. Sämtliche Werke (14 vols., 1828-39) were reprinted in 1978.

Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel may refer to:

• Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel the Elder (1741–1796), German satirical writer
• Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel the Younger (1775–1843), Prussian statesman, his nephew

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