Francis Lieber
| Francis Lieber | |
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| Born |
Franz Lieber March 18, 1798/1800 Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | October 2, 1872 (aged 72-74) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Jena |
| Notable work | Lieber Code |
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Francis Lieber (March 18, 1798 or 1800 – October 2, 1872), known as Franz Lieber in Germany, was a German-American jurist, gymnast and political philosopher. He edited an Encyclopaedia Americana. He was the author of the Lieber Code during the American Civil War, also known as Code for the Government of Armies in the Field (1863). The Lieber Code is considered the first document to comprehensively outline rules regulating the conduct of war, and laid the foundation for the Geneva Conventions.
Franz Lieber was born in Berlin, the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia. While still in Germany, Lieber joined the Colberg Regiment of the Prussian Army in 1815 during the Napoleonic Wars, and was wounded during the Battle of Waterloo. The year of his birth has been debated because he lied about his age in order to enlist.
Lieber did not receive a normal gentleman's education. Returning to Berlin after the Napoleonic wars (post 1815), he studied hard and passed the entrance exams for the University of Berlin. However, he was denied admission because of his membership in the Berliner Burschenschaft, which opposed the Prussian monarchy. Moving to Jena, Lieber entered the University of Jena in 1820 and within four months finished writing a dissertation in the field of mathematics. As the Prussian authorities caught up with him, Lieber left Jena for Dresden to study topography with Major Decker (briefly). As soon as the Greek Revolution of 1821 broke out, Lieber volunteered his services.
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