The New International Encyclopædia/Becker, Rudolph Zacharias

BECKER, Rudolph Zacharias (1752-1822). A German educator and author. He was born at Erfurt, and studied theology at the University of Jena. As instructor at the Basedow ‘Philanthropin,’ at Dessau, he founded a journal entitled Dessauische Zeitung für die Jugend und ihre Freunde, which he afterwards continued at Gotha (1784), under the title of Deutsche Zeitung für die Jugend, and which in 1796 was published as the Nationalzeitung der Deutschen. In consequence of an article in the latter publication, he was arrested by the French and imprisoned at Magdeburg for seventeen months. His experiences during that period were admirably described in the interesting narrative entitled Beckers Leiden and Freuden in 17monatlicher französischer Gefangenschaft (1814) — a work of genuine historical merit. One of his publications, bearing the title of Not- und Hilfsbüchlein für Bauerleute, oder lehrreiche Freuden- und Trauergeschichte des Dorfes Mildheim (Gotha, 1787-98), became exceedingly popular.