Otto Heuer | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Heuer around 1875 | |
| Director of the Freies Deutsches Hochstift | |
| In office 1888–1925 | |
| Succeeded by | Ernst Beutler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 February 1854 |
| Died | 24 January 1931 (aged 76) |
Otto Heuer (6 February 1854 – 24 January 1931) was a German literary historian. He served as the director of the Freies Deutsches Hochstift literary association from 1888 until his retirement in 1925.
Heuer was born on 6 February 1854 to Friedrich Wilhelm and Emilia Heuer.[1] He attended the gymnasium in Hanover before leaving to study philology and history at Leipzig University, after which he moved to Bohemia. He later moved to Berlin in 1882[1] before moving to Frankfurt in 1886. On 21 January 1887, Heuer was elected secretary of the Academic Department for History in the Freies Deutsches Hochstift.[2] In the same year Heuer received his PhD in History from Humboldt University of Berlin.[3] On 1 April 1888, he became the librarian at the Hochstift; under Heuer this role morphed into that of director.[4]
Heuer expanded the Hochstift's collection and curated several exhibitions about Goethe (such as one in 1892 about The Sorrows of Young Werther). He also led the construction of a new Goethe Museum in 1897, expanding the Hochstift's museum efforts. Heuer's time as director coincided with the First World War and inflation, which threatened to deplete the Hochstift's finances; he organised a fundraiser to prevent the Hochstift from collapsing. Heuer replaced the Hochstift's yearly report with a yearbook ("Jahrbuch") with academic articles about Goethe and the collection of the Hochstift.[citation needed]
Heuer remained as director until his retirement in 1925,[4][5] upon which he was succeeded by Ernst Beutler.
After retiring, Heuer lived in Bad Homburg until his death on 24 January 1931.[6]
