Charles Follen (September 6 1796-January 13 1840) was a German poet and patriot, who later moved to the United States and became the first professor of German at Harvard University, a Unitarian minister, and a radical abolitionist. 1796 was a leap year starting on Friday. ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Unitarian Christianity Historic Unitarianism believed in the oneness of God as opposed to traditional Christian belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). ... This article is about the abolition of slavery. ...

Life in Europe

He was born Karl Theodor Christian Friedrich Follen at Romrod, in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, to Christoph Follen (1759-1833) and Rosine Follen (1766-1799). His father was a counselor-at-law and judge in Giessen, in Hesse-Darmstadt. His mother had retired to Romrod to avoid the French revolutionary troops that had occupied Giessen. He was the brother of August Ludwig Follen and Paul Follen, and the uncle of the biologist Karl Vogt. The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt came into existence in 1568, as the portion of George, youngest of the four sons of Landgrave Philipp of Hesse. ... Gießen (Giessen pronunciation) is a city in the federal state (Bundesland) of Hesse in Germany, capital of the Gießen district. ... The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt came into existence in 1568, as the portion of George, youngest of the four sons of Landgrave Philipp of Hesse. ... August (or, as he afterwards called himself, Adolf) Ludwig Follen (January 21, 1794 - December 26, 1855), German poet, was born at Giessen, the son of a district judge. ... Biology is the branch of science dealing with the study of life. ... Karl Christoph Vogt (July 5, 1817 – May 5, 1895) was a German scientist moved to Switzerland. ...

Follen studied theology at the University of Giessen. In 1814 he and his brother, August Ludwig Follen, fought in the Napoleonic Wars as Hessian volunteers. After returning from the campaign he began studying law, and in 1818 established himself as Privatdocent of civil law at Giessen. Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... The University of Gießen (Giessen), officially called Justus Liebig-Universität Gießen after its most famous member, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertilizer. ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... August (or, as he afterwards called himself, Adolf) Ludwig Follen (January 21, 1794 - December 26, 1855), German poet, was born at Giessen, the son of a district judge. ... Combatants Allies: • United Kingdom, • Prussia, • Austria, • Russia France Casualties Full list Full list The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France. ... Hessian is an English word which refers to inhabitants of the German state of Hessen. ... Law (from the late Old English lagu of probable North Germanic origin) in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, intended to provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide... Privatdozent (PD or Priv. ...

As a student, Follen joined a radical fraternity, and wrote political essays, poems, and patriotic songs. His essays and speeches advocated violence and tyrannicide in defense of freedom; this, and his friendship with Karl Ludwig Sand brought him under suspicion as an accomplice in Sand's 1819 assassination of the conservative diplomat and dramatist August von Kotzebue. Follen destroyed letters linking him with Sand and fled to France. He came under suspicion again after the political assassination of Charles Ferdinand, duc de Berry in 1820, and fled from France to Switzerland. Tyrannicide, literally means the killing of a tyrant. ... Karl Ludwig Sand (d. ... At law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offence. ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Conservatism or political conservatism is any of several historically related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (May 3, 1761 - March 23, 1819), was a German dramatist. ... Charles Ferdinand, duc de Berry (1778 - February 13, 1820) was the younger son of Charles X of France and Marie-Thérèse de Savoie. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

In Switzerland, he taught for a while at the cantonal school at Coire and at the University of Basel. However, the Prussian authorities continued to demand his surrender, and in 1824 he left Switzerland for the United States of America. The twenty-six cantons of Switzerland are the states of the federal state of Switzerland. ... The University of Basel (German: Universität Basel) is located at Basel, Switzerland. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (Old Prussian: Prūsa, German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Life in the United States

Arriving at New York in 1824, Follen anglicized his name to "Charles" and, aided by letters of introduction from the Marquis de Lafayette, established himself in Massachusetts society. He became headmaster of the Round Hill School in Northampton, Massachusetts, and married Eliza Lee Cabot — the daughter of one Boston's most prominent families — in 1828. He joined the faculty of Harvard University in 1829 as an instructor and then a Professor in German. He became friendly with the New England Transcendentalists, and helped introduce them to German Romantic thought. Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... To anglicise (or in North American English anglicize) is to adapt a foreign word into the English language, often modifying its form to correspond to standard English French demoiselle, meaning little lady. Another common type of anglicisation is the inclusion of a foreign article as part of a noun (eg. ... Marie-Joseph-Paul-Roch-Yves-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette (September 6, 1757 – May 20, 1834), was a French aristocrat most famous for his participation in the American Revolutionary War and early French Revolution. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 44th 10,555 mi²; 27,360 km² 183 mi; 295 km 113 mi; 182 km 13. ... Northampton, Massachusetts Main Street Northampton is a city located in Hampshire County, Massachusetts in the USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 28,978. ... 1828 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Transcendentalism was the name of a group of new ideas in literature, religion, culture and philosophy which emerged in New England in the early- to mid-nineteenth century. ...

The Follens had a house built on the corner of Cambridge Street in Boston. Their family Christmas tree attracted the attention of the English writer Harriet Martineau during her long visit to the United States, and the Follens have been claimed by some as the first to introduce the German custom of decorated Christmas tree to the United States. (The claim is only one of many competing claims for the introduction of the custom to the United States.) Boston is a town and small port c. ... A Christmas tree in a Danish home. ... Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau (June 12, 1802 - June 27, 1876) was an English writer and philosopher. ...

In 1835, he lost his professorship at Harvard due to his abolitionist agitation and his conflict with University President Josiah Quincy's strict disciplinary measures for undergraduates. His friendship with the prominent Unitarian preacher William Ellery Channing drew him into the Unitarian Church, and he was ordained as a minister in 1836. In 1838 he became the minister for his own congregation in New York City, but lost the position within the year due to conflicts over his radical abolitionist views. He considered returning to Germany, but was hired in 1839 by a congregation in Lexington, Massachusetts. He broke off a lecture tour in New York and took a steamboat to Lexington for the dedication of his new parish church. Follen died en route when his steamer took fire and sank in a storm in the Long Island Sound. Due to his controversial positions, Channing was unable to find any church in Boston willing to hold a memorial service on his behalf. | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Josiah Quincy was the name of three men in Massachusetts history. ... Dr. William Ellery Channing (April 7, 1780 – October 2, 1842) was the foremost Unitarian preacher in the United States in the early nineteenth century and, along with Andrews Norton, one of Unitarianisms leading theologians. ... Charles Darwin 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname: The Big Apple Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Minute Man statue on Lexington Green, by H. H. Kitson. ... New York City waterways: 1. ...

Follen's wife Eliza prepared a five-volume collection of his papers and a biography.

Also his brother Paul Follen emigrated 1834 to the US.

References

• Thomas S. Hansen, Charles Follen: Brief life of a vigorous reformer, 1796-1840, in the Harvard Magazine (September-October 2002).
• Unitarianism in America: Charles Follen (1796-1840)
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.