Kotzebue, August Friedrich Ferdinand von

(1761-1819)
Born May 3, 1761 in Weimar. Studied law in Jena and Duisburg. In 1781 he moved to St. Petersburg, where he served as Secretary of the Governor-General. In 1790 he resigned. In 1798-1800 - director of the court theater in Vienna in 1801 - director of the German Theater in St. Petersburg. Later implemented in Russia, Germany and various projects in the field of art and politics. Emitting in Weimar and Mannheim extremely reactionary 'literary weekly' ( 'Literarisches Wochenblatt'), Kotzebue alienated themselves champions of democracy. Kotzebue, was killed March 23, 1819.
The most popular playwright in Germany at the end of 18., Kotzebue won European fame play Misanthropy and repentance (Menschenhaas und Reue, post. 1787, publ. 1789). Kotzebue turned to comedy relatively late, his best works in this genre - Hicks (Kleinstdter, 1802) - opened the way for many German comedies. Modern German farce also owes its emergence Kotzebue.

Historical works of Kotzebue minor. From the autobiographical prose can mention my flight to Paris in winter 1790 (Meine Flucht nach Paris im Winter 1790, 1791) and my stay in Vienna (ber meinen Aufenthalt in Wien, 1799).