Maximilian Berlitz

Maximilian Berlitz Delphinius ( born April 14, 1852 as David Berlizheimer in Mühringen, † April 6, 1921 in New York City ) was an American voice teacher of German origin and founder of the " Berlitz language schools."

Life

As a descendant of a Jewish merchant family, David grew up in Berlizheimer Mühringen on ( now a district of Horb am Neckar), which is located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb. He emigrated in 1870 to the United States, where he took the name Maximilian Berlitz Delphinius. In 1872 he married in Westerly, Rhode Iceland, Lillie Bertha Ehlert (* 1854), the daughter of German -born immigrants was. The couple had two daughters: Bertha (* 1874) and Millicent (* 1882).

Berlitz hired initially in various occupations, including as a private teacher of Latin and Greek. After a few years in Westerly, the family moved to Providence, where from 1875 Berlitz Latin and Greek taught at the high school, and later at Warner 's Polytechnic Business College. In 1877 he published his book The logic of Language. In 1878 he opened his own school in Providence, which had 226 students already in the first year. Developed by Berlitz teaching method that requires few grammar and translations and their heavy weight on repetition and conversation, was popular rapidly. Berlitz founded numerous other schools in rapid succession, except in America. Well as in various European countries he traveled In 1890 he was Kaiser Wilhelm II personally teaching English, and later the Russian Tsar Nicholas II for his meeting with Henry Ford in 1900 had Berlitz ' schools, 30,000 students. Since the schools were very successful, especially in Europe, 1907, the administrative center was moved to Paris. Berlitz died in 1921 in the Bronx to arteriosclerosis and was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery. He inherited the school to his grandson Charles Berlitz, who later became a successful writer. His company, which is now known as Berlitz International, Inc. currently operates more than 500 language schools in 60 countries.