The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Hermann, Friedrich Benedikt Wilhelm von

HERMANN, Friedrich Benedikt Wilhelm von, German economist: b. Bavaria, 1795; d. 1868. He received his education at Erlangen and Würzburg, where he gave special attention to political economy. He was appointed privatdozent at Erlangen in 1823 and two years later became professor of mathematics at the Nuremberg Gymnasium. In 1827 he was named professor extraordinary at the University of Munich. He was elected to the Bavarian Academy of Science in 1835 and also served as inspector of technical instruction in Bavaria. He became one of the advisers of the Minister of the Interior in 1845, and three years later he served as Munich representative in the Frankfort Assembly. Here he led the forces opposed to the threatening leadership of Prussia. In 1855 Hermann was made Councilor of State and for a time was also in charge of the Bureau of Statistics. He published important pamphlets as head of this bureau, and is now regarded as one of the foremost pioneers in the field of statistics. His reputation as an economist is founded on his ‘Staatswirtschaftliche Untersuchungen’ (1832).