Karl May
| Karl May | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Karl Friedrich May 25 February 1842 Ernstthal, Kingdom of Saxony, German Confederation |
| Died | 30 March 1912 (aged 70) Radebeul, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire |
| Occupation | Writer, author |
Karl Friedrich May (originally Carl; 25 February 1842 – 30 March 1912) was a German author, poet and musician. He must not be confused with the renowned sculptor Karl May (1884-1961).
Life
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May was best known for his 19th century novels of fictitious travels and adventures, set in the American Old West with American Indian Winnetou and his "white brother" Old Shatterhand as main protagonists and in the Orient and Middle East with fictional characters Kara Ben Nemsi and Hadschi Halef Omar, remarkable for the realistic detail that the author was able to achieve. He also wrote novels set in Latin America, China and Germany, poetry, a play, and composed music; he was a proficient player of several musical instruments. Many of his works were adapted for film, theatre, audio dramas and comics. Later in his career, May turned to philosophical and spiritual genres. He is one of the best-selling German writers of all time, with about 200,000,000 copies sold worldwide.
Encyclopædia Britannica
- May, a weaver’s son, was an elementary school teacher until arrested for petty theft. He later was twice arrested for fraud and spent several years in prison, where he is said to have read voraciously. After his release in 1874 May wrote short stories that were serialized in various periodicals. His popularity soared upon the appearance of his short-story collections and novels in the early 1890s. Some of the best known of his more than 60 works are Der Schatz im Silbersee (1894; “The Treasure in the Silver Lake”), Durch die Wüste (1892; In the Desert), Winnetou, 3 vol. (1893; Eng. trans., 1977); Ardistan und Dschinnistan (1909; Ardistan and Djinnistan), and the autobiography Mein Leben und Streben (1910; “My Life and Struggle”). In his memory were established a publishing house, the Karl May Verlag in Bamberg, Ger. (originally in Radebeul), and the Karl May Museum in Bamberg, containing North American Indian collections.[1]
Death
May died one week later in his own Villa Shatterhand on 30 March 1912. According to the register of deaths, the cause was cardiac arrest, acute bronchitis and asthma, but according to Ralf Harder from the Karl-May-Stiftung, May's death certificate does not include the cause of death. German Scientists examining the remains of May in 2014 found excessive quantities of lead and other heavy metals, and concluded that his death was probably due to a long-time exposure to lead in water as well as tobacco. May was buried in Radebeul East. His tomb was inspired by the Temple of Athena Nike.
External links
Online books
- 47 Karl May books online, Internet Archive
