The New International Encyclopædia/Hirsch, Max

HIRSCH, Max (1832-1905). A German political economist and politician, born at Halberstadt, in Prussian Saxony. He studied political economy and jurisprudence at the universities of Tübingen, Heidelberg, and Berlin, and then traveled through France and North Africa. As the result of his observations during these travels he published: Skizze der volkswirtschaftlichen Zustände in Algerien (1857), and Reise in das Innere von Algerien, durch die Kabylie und Sahara (1862). After a later journey through England and Scotland he returned home to organize trades unions among his countrymen. These soon spread all over Germany and through them and their organ, Der Gewerkverein, he wielded great influence. He was several times a member of the Reichstag, and was the leading spirit in a number of societies for the benefit of the laboring classes. His publications include: Was bezwecken die Gewerkvereine? (15th ed. 1891) and Das Invaliditäts- und Altersversicherungsgesetz (3d ed. 1890).