HILLEBRAND

hillebrand, karl (1829-1884), german author, was born at giessen on the 17th of september 1829, his father joseph hillebrand (1788-1871) being a literary historian and writer on philosophic subjects. karl hillebrand became involved, as a student in heidelberg, in the baden revolutionary movement, and was imprisoned in rastatt. he succeeded in escaping and lived for a time in strassburg, paris--where for several months he was heine's secretary--and bordeaux. he continued his studies, and after obtaining the doctor's degree at the sorbonne, he was appointed teacher of german in the _ecole militaire_ at st cyr, and shortly afterwards, professor of foreign literatures at douai. on the outbreak of the franco-german war he resigned his professorship and acted for a time as correspondent to _the times_ in italy. he then settled in florence, where he died on the 19th of october 1884. hillebrand wrote with facility and elegance in french, english and italian, besides his own language. his essays, collected under the title _zeiten, volker und menschen_ (berlin, 1874-1885), show clear discernment, a finely balanced cosmopolitan judgment and grace of style. he undertook to write the _geschichte frankreichs von der thronbesteigung ludwig philipps bis zum fall napoleons iii._, but only two volumes were completed (to 1848) (2nd ed., 1881-1882). in french he published _des conditions de la bonne comedie_ (1863), _la prusse contemporaine_ (1867), _etudes italiennes_ (1868), and a translation of o. muller's _griechische literaturgeschichte_ (3rd ed., 1883). in english he published his royal institution lectures on _german thought during the last two hundred years_ (1880). he also edited a collection of essays dealing with italy, under the title _italia_ (4 vols., leipzig, 1824-1877). see h. homberger, _karl hillebrand_ (berlin, 1884).