Friedrich Wilhelm Thiersch (17 June 1784 – 25 February 1860), was a German classical scholar and educator.
He was born atKirchscheidungen (now a part ofLaucha an der Unstrut,Saxony-Anhalt). In 1809 he became professor at thegymnasium atMunich, and in 1826 professor of ancient literature at theUniversity of Landshut; he was transferred in that year to Munich where he remained till his death. Thiersch, the "tutor of Bavaria" (praeceptor Bavariae), found an extremely unsatisfactory system of education in existence. There was a violent feud between theProtestant "north" and theCatholic "south" Germans; Thiersch's colleagues, chiefly oldmonks, offered violent opposition to his reforms, and an attempt was made upon his life. His plans were nevertheless carried out, and became the governing principle of the educational institutions ofBavaria.[1]
Thiersch was an ardent supporter of Greek independence. In 1832 he visitedGreece, and his influence is said to have helped secure the throne of the newly created kingdom forOtto of Greece. He wrote aGreek grammar, a metrical translation ofPindar, and an account of Greece (L'état actuel de la Grece) in 1833.[1] He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1855.[2]
Thiersch died in Munich. He is buried in theAlter Südfriedhof in Munich. After his death theBayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften commissioned a bronze medal made by the engraverJoahnn Adam Ries in 1860.[3][4]His biography was written by his son,H. W. J. Thiersch (1866).[1] Another son,Karl Thiersch, was a renownedsurgeon, and yet another,Ludwig Thiersch, was an influential painter.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Thiersch, Friedrich Wilhelm".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 850.