The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Becker, Karl Ferdinand

BECKER, Karl Ferdinand, a German philologist, born at Liser, near Treves, April 14, 1775, died at Offenbach, Sept. 5, 1849. He was educated at Hildesheim, taught there from 1794 to 1799, subsequently studied and practised medicine, and was a surgeon in the army. In 1823 he established a school at Offenbach. In his writings on comparative philology he followed logical and philosophical principles, in opposition to the school of philologists who base their investigations chiefly upon historical and ethnological development. His grammars and manuals of the German language passed through many editions.