Democrat who led the left of the Frankfurt National Assembly and was shot in Vienna after joining the October rising
Born in 1807 into a poor cooper's family in Cologne, he worked at many trades, followed a theatre troupe to Leipzig in 1832 and became cashier of the city theatre. From 1839 he emerged as a leader of Saxony's national-liberal circles, building the Saxon opposition through his oratory and organising skill, and in 1845 he organised the first German Catholic synod in Leipzig. In 1848 he was one of the presidents of the Frankfurt Pre-Parliament, and in the National Assembly he led the left and strongly opposed the Malmö armistice. Sent to Vienna in October as a parliamentary envoy, he joined the revolutionary forces, was arrested on 4 November after Windischgrätz took the city and, though he claimed immunity as a deputy, was shot on 9 November. His death became a symbol of the futility of the German rising of 1848.
Activities and affiliations
- 1839–1847
-
1848
Frankfurt National Assembly (1848–1849)Main
Legislature and state representation
Career Timeline
- 1832Theatre employee in Leipzig
- 1839Leader of Saxon national-liberal circles
- 1848Vice-president of the Pre-Parliament, leader of the left in the National Assembly
- 1848Joined the Vienna October rising; shot on 9 November
Related historical events
- 1848.03–1849.07The German Revolution of 1848–1849Leader of the left in the Frankfurt National AssemblyVice-president of the Pre-Parliament and opponent of the Malmö armistice, he joined the Vienna October rising and was shot on 9 November 1848.
- 1848.03–1849.10The Hungarian Revolution and War of IndependenceFrankfurt deputy executed after the Vienna October UprisingTook part in the Vienna October Uprising and was executed after the city fell, despite invoking his parliamentary immunity.
- 1848–1849The Revolutions of 1848Frankfurt deputyJoined the Vienna October rising and was executed by Austrian troops, exposing the parliament's impotence.