Frederik Ludvig Liebenberg

Frederik Ludvig Liebenberg (August 16, 1810 – 23 January 1894), was a Danish literary historian, translator, critic and publisher. He is remembered especially for his editions of Ludvig Holberg and Adam Oehlenschläger.

Liebenberg, son of Lutheran pastor and royal confessor, Michael Frederik Liebenberg (1767–1828), was born August 16, 1810, in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was said to be a weak child who was spoiled by his mother with the result that he was a slow starter. It was not until he was eight years old that he started at Pogeskolen, his first school.

In 1823, he was sent Copenhagen’s most prestigious private school, Borgerdydskolen (Civic Virtue School), whose headmaster, the legendary Michael Nielsen (1776–1846), was said to be a cross between a tyrant and a pedant. Liebenberg would later recount in his memoirs that Adolph Peter Adler and Søren Kierkegaard were both in the same class from 1823 to 1827 where they established a close friendship. The school was not, however, suited to Liebenberg, who was not very industrious. He therefore left school and, after being tutored privately, entered university in 1828. He chose theology as his field of study, with Hebrew as a special subject. However, as these studies had little appeal for him, he soon abandoned them.

In 1840, breaking completely with theology, he began to pursue literary interests. Within a few years, he took on a rather fruitful field of activity as a publisher of Danish classics. As he became a devoted literary expert, Liebenberg showed a distinct preference for the lighter side of life. He was quick to socialize and develop new friendships.

He was particularly attracted by the freshness and originality of youth. In particular, from 1846 to 1858, when he held the post of library assistant at the students' association, he constantly displayed a youthful approach to the association's business and festivities, even after his hair had begun to gray. In the summer, he could be seen rambling through Zealands's forests with one or other of his younger friends. Indeed, young students, including Jacob Voltelen, Georg Brandes and Otto Borchsenius, were attracted by his kind disposition, his reliability and his unfailing love for literature.

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