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Hofmeister, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Hofmeister, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm hōfˈmīˌstər [key], 1824–77, German botanist. Although self-taught, he made such valuable studies of the reproduction and development of plants that he was appoin...

Gesenius, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Gesenius, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm gāzāˈnyo͝os [key], 1786–1842, German Orientalist, one of the greatest Hebrew and biblical scholars. He is principally known for his Hebrew Grammar, which has been r...

Müller, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Müller, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlmˌ mŭlˈər [key], 1794–1827, German lyric poet; father of Max Müller. His Lieder der Griechen (5 vol., 1821–24) was inspired by the Greek struggle for independence. ...

Oncken, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Oncken, Wilhelm ôngˈkən [key], 1838–1905, German historian. He taught at the Univ. of Giessen after 1866. A typical national liberal of the 19th cent., Oncken regarded history as a means of nati...

Ostwald, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Ostwald, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm ôstˈvält [key], 1853–1932, German physical chemist and natural philosopher, b. Riga, Latvia. He was professor of chemistry and director of the chemical laboratory (18...

Keitel, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Keitel, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm kīˈtəl [key], 1882–1946, German general. A supporter of Hitler, he became (1938) chief of staff of the supreme command of the armed forces, a new post that marked the ...

Lehmbruck, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Lehmbruck, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm lāmˈbro͝ok [key], 1881–1919, German sculptor. He studied at Düsseldorf and went to Paris in 1910. Influenced at first by Rodin, Brancusi, and Maillol, he later arr...

Leibl, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Leibl, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm līˈbəl [key], 1844–1900, German genre and portrait painter. He studied in Munich where numerous painters came under his influence; the “Leibl group” shared his pred...

Busch, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Busch, Wilhelm, 1832–1908, German cartoonist, painter, and poet. After studying at the academies of Antwerp, Düsseldorf, and Munich, he joined the staff of the Fliegende Blätter, to which he contr...

Canaris, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Canaris, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm känäˈrĭs [key], 1887–1945, German admiral. He occupied various positions in the German navy during and after World War I. In 1935 he was made chief of the Abwehr [mi...