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February
9 in German History
--------------------------------- February 9, 1834
Birth of Felix Dahn in Hamburg, Germany.
Dahn was a professor of law at the universities of Munich,
Würzburg and Berlin. In addition to his work in law he wrote
histories and historical novels. Among his histories are Die
Könige der Germanen (11 volumes), Die Urgeschichte
der germanischen und romanischen Völker and Deutsche
Geschichte von der Urzeit bis 843. His most popular novel
was Ein Kampf um Rom.
February 9, 1845
Birth of Ludwig Forrer in Islikon,
Switzerland. Forrer was elected president of Switzerland in
1906 and 1912.
February 9, 1846
Birth of Wilhelm Maybach in Heilbronn,
Germany, chief designer of the first Mercedes automobiles. In
partnership with Gottlieb Daimler he founded the
Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in 1890. In 1909 he and his son,
Carl, founded a company to build aircraft engines and engines
for Zeppelin's lighter-than-air craft.
February 9, 1865
Birth of Erich Dagobert von Drygalski in
Königsberg, Germany (now in Russia). A geographer and
glaciologist, Drygalski led an expedition to the Antarctic
from 1901-1903 and published the results of the findings in Deutsche
Südpolar-Expedition 1901-1903. The 20 volume work
appeared between 1905 and 1931. Drygalski was a professor at
the University of Munich.
February 9, 1885
Birth of Alban Berg in Vienna, Austria.
Berg was a composer, a student of Arnold Schoenberg. He
composed primarily instrumental music, but is broadly known
for his two operas, Wozzeck and Lulu. The text
of Wozzeck is adapted from Georg Büchners Woyzeck and
that of Lulu from the work of Frank Wedekind. Berg's
music in all formats is atonal and chromatic.
February 9, 1988
Death of Kurt Adler in Ross, California
(born in Vienna, Austria). After study at the Vienna Academy
of Music, the Vienna Conservatory and the University of
Vienna, Adler became a leading conductor at various locations
in Europe. In 1938 he immigrated to the United States and
accepted a position with the Chicago Opera. In 1943 he moved
to the San Francisco Opera and was responsible for
transforming that company from regional status to a leading
opera company.
February 9, 1996
Death of Adolf Galland in Oberwinter,
Germany. Galland was a very skilled fighter pilot in World
War II. He shot down over 100 Allied planes. He had been a
Lufthansa pilot but joined the air force when the war
started. He flew with the Condor Legion during the Spanish
Civil War, and was a commander during the Battle of Britain.
He was shot down and captured in 1945. After the war he
became a technical advisor to the Argentine air force and
later returned to Germany as an aviation consultant.
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