​ZSCHOKKE, JOHANN HEINRICH DANIEL (1771-1848),German author, was born at Magdeburg on the 22nd of March1771. He was educated at the monasterial (kloster) school andat the Altstädter gymnasium of his native place. He spentsome time as playwright with a company of strolling actors, butafterwards studied philosophy, theology and history at theuniversity of Frankfort-on-the-Oder, where in 1792 he establishedhimself asPrivatdozent. He created much sensation by anextravagant novel,Abällino, der grosse Bandit (1793; subsequentlyalso dramatized), modelled on Schiller'sRäuber, and themelodramatic tragedy,Julius von Sassen (1796). The Prussiangovernment having declined to make him a full professor,Zschokke in 1796 settled in Switzerland, where he conductedan educational institution in the castle of Reichenau. Theauthorities of the Grisons admitted him to the rights of acitizen, and in 1798 he published hisGeschichte des Freistaats derdrei Bünde im hohen Rätien. The political disturbances of thisyear compelled him to close his institution. He was, however,sent as a deputy to Aarau, where he was made president of theeducational department, and afterwards as governmentcommissioner to Unterwalden, his authority being ultimatelyextended over the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Zug. Zschokkedistinguished himself by the vigour of his administration andby the enthusiasm with which he devoted himself to the interestsof the poorer classes of the community. In 1800 he reorganizedthe institutions of the Italian cantons and was appointedlieutenant-governor of the canton of Basel. Zschokke retiredfrom public life when the central government at Bern proposedto re-establish the federal system, but after the changes effectedby Bonaparte he entered the service of the canton of Aargau,with which he remained connected. In 1801 he attractedattention by hisGeschichte vom Kampfe und Untergange derschweizerischen Berg- und Wald-Kantone. Through hisSchweizerbote, the publication of which began in 1804, he exercised awholesome influence on public affairs; and the like may besaid of hisMiscellen für die neueste Weltkunde, issued from 1807to 1813. In 1811 he also started a monthly periodical, theErheiterungen. He wrote various historical works, the mostimportant of which isDes Schweizerlandes Geschichte für dasSchweizervolk (1822, 8th ed. 1849). Zschokke's tales, on whichhis literary reputation rests, are collected in several series,Bilder aus der Schweiz (5 vols., 1824-25),Ausgewählte Novellenund Dichtungen (16 vols., 1838-39). The best known are:Addrich im Moos (1794);Der Freihof von Aarau (1794);Alamontade (1802);Der Creole (1830);Das Goldmacherdorf(1817); andMeister Jordan (1845). InStunden der Andacht(1809-1816; 27 editions in Zschokke's lifetime), which waswidely read, he expounded in a rationalistic spirit the fundamentalprinciples of religion and morality.Eine Selbstschau(1842) is a kind of autobiography. Zschokke was not a greatoriginal writer, but he secured an eminent place in the literatureof his time by his enthusiasm for modern ideas in politics andreligion, by the sound, practical judgment displayed in his works,and by the energy and lucidity of his style. He died at hiscountry house of Blumenhalde on the Aar on the 27th of June1848.