George William von Zedlitz

George William Edward Ernest von Zedlitz (10 March 1871– 24 May 1949) was a New Zealand professor of modern languages.

George William von Zedlitz
Born(1871-03-10)March 10, 1871
Herrmannswaldau, German Empire
DiedMay 24, 1949(1949-05-24) (aged 78)
Wellington, New Zealand
OccupationProfessor

Background

Von Zedlitz was born in 1871 at Herrmannswaldau, which at the time was located in Germany.[1] His mother was an Englishwoman and he was raised principally in England. His father was Sigismund Freiherr von Zedlitz and Neukirch (1838-1903).

On 4 January 1905[2] he married Alice Maud Fitzgerald the eldest daughter of Lower Hutt mayor William Alfred Fitzherbert, who built a house Norbury in Lower Hutt (now Minoh Friendship House) for them.

Academic career
The top of the von Zedlitz building, the red-coloured tower block on Victoria University of Wellington's Kelburn campus, looking towards part of Wellington's CBD and harbour.

In 1902, Von Zedlitz was appointed as a professor of modern languages at Victoria University College, and was the fifth professor to join the college. He also served as an official government translator. Following the outbreak of the First World War the New Zealand Government requested to have him dismissed from his post, a request that was rebuffed by the university. The subsequent passing of the Alien Enemy Teachers Act 1915 [3] enabled the Government to overrule the university.

In 1936 he was made professor emeritus, and elected to the Senate of the University of New Zealand.[4]

Death and legacy
Von Zedlitz building (centre red building), at Victoria University of Wellington

He died in Wellington on 24 May 1949.[5] In May 1979, Victoria University of Wellington officially opened the Von Zedlitz building on their Kelburn campus.[6][7] Named in his honour, the building houses the School of Languages and Cultures.[8]

Between 1906 and 1917, George von Zedlitz was the guide and the teacher of the younger days of Diamond Jenness, a pioneer of Canadian anthropology.[9]

References
  1. McLintock, A. H. (23 November 2011). "ZEDLITZ (-NEUKIRK), George William Edward Ernest von". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  2. "A Charming Wedding". Free Lance in Papers Past. 7 January 1905.
  3. "Alien Enemy Teachers Act, 1915". New Zealand Law online. 1915.
  4. Beaglehole, Tim. "George William Edward Ernest von Zedlitz". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  5. "Death of prominent Professor". Bay of Plenty Times in Papers Past. 25 May 1949.
  6. Barrowmann, Rachel (1999). Victoria University of Wellington, 1899-1999. Wellington: Victoria University Press. p. 148. ISBN 0864733690.
  7. "George von Zedlitz arrives in Wellington". NZHistory. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  8. "Contact us - School of Languages and Cultures". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  9. Barnett Richling - In Twilight and in dawn, a biography of Diamond Jenness, 2012, ISBN 978-0-7735-3981-5


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