Wilhelm Mannhardt, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Wilhelm Mannhardt

German scholar

Date of Birth: 26-Mar-1831

Place of Birth: Friedrichstadt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Date of Death: 25-Dec-1880

Profession: librarian, sociologist, anthropologist

Nationality: Germany

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Wilhelm Mannhardt (March 26, 1831, Friedrichstadt – December 25, 1880, Danzig) was a German scholar, mythologist and folklorist.
He is known for his work on Germanic mythology, on Baltic mythology, and other pre-Christian European pantheons; and for his championing of the solar theory, namely in the early years of his career, under the influence of Jakob Grimm.
Later on, Mannhardt focused more on vegetation spirits from an evolutionist point of view, namely the primitive tree cult and its later developments.He was also a collector and carried out field work despite poor health.
He was a forerunner of James Frazer's The Golden Bough (1890), and like Frazer, his theories have subsequently been heavily criticized.