Max Ehrmann

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Max Ehrmann
Born September 26, 1872(1872-09-26)
Terre Haute, Indiana
Died September 9, 1945 (aged 72)
Terre Haute, Indiana
Resting place Highland Lawn Cemetery, Terre Haute, Indiana
39°28′35″N 87°20′52″W / 39.4763985°N 87.3478012°W / 39.4763985; -87.3478012Coordinates: 39°28′35″N 87°20′52″W / 39.4763985°N 87.3478012°W / 39.4763985; -87.3478012
Residence Terre Haute, Indiana
Nationality  United States
Ethnicity Bavarian-American
Alma mater DePauw University
Harvard University
Occupation Attorney
businessman
Home town Terre Haute, Indiana
Known for prose poem Desiderata (1927)
Spouse(s) Bertha Pratt King Ehrmann
Parents Maximilian Ehrmann, Sr.
Margaret Barbara Lutz Ehrmann
Notes

Max Ehrmann (September 26, 1872 - September 9, 1945) was an attorney and businessman of Terre Haute, Indiana, best known for his 1927 prose poem "Desiderata" (Latin: "things desired").

Ehrmann received a degree in English from DePauw University (1894) where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta's Beta Beta chapter.[3] Later he studied philosophy and law at Harvard.

He returned to his hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana in 1898 to practice law; he was a deputy state's attorney in Vigo County, Indiana for two years. Eventually this led him to work in his family's meatpacking business and in the overalls manufacturing industry. At age 40, Ehrmann left the business to write. At age 54, he wrote Desiderata, which achieved fame only after his death.[1][4]

Ehrmann was of German descent; both his parents emigrated from Bavaria in the 1840s. Young Ehrmann was educated at the Terre Haute Fourth District School and the German Methodist Church. While at De Pauw (Greencastle, Indiana 1890—1894), he was editor of the school newspaper, Depauw Weekly.[2] At Harvard about 1896, he was editor of Delta Tau Delta's national magazine Rainbow. DePauw awarded him a Doctor of Letters honorary degree in about 1937.[5][6] Delta Tau Delta elected him to Distinguished Service Chapter, its highest alumni award.[3]

[edit] Bibliography

  • Max Ehrmann (1898). A Farrago[5]
  • Max Ehrmann (before 1938). A Fearsome Riddle
  • Max Ehrmann (before 1938). A Prayer and Selections
  • Max Ehrmann (before 1938). Breaking home Ties
  • Max Ehrmann (before 1938). The Poems of Max Ehrmann
  • Max Ehrmann (before 1938). A Passion Play
  • Max Ehrmann (before 1938). The Wife of Marobuis
  • Max Ehrmann (before 1938). David and Bathsheba
  • Max Ehrmann (before 1938). Scarlet Women
  • Max Ehrmann (before 1938). Book of Farces
  • Max Ehrmann (before 1938). The Bank Robbery
  • Max Ehrmann (before 1938). The Plumber[6]
  • Bertha Pratt King Ehrmann (1948). The Poems of Max Ehrmann (includes Desiderata)
  • Bertha Pratt King Ehrmann (1951). Max Ehrmann: A Poet's Life
  • Bertha Pratt King Ehrmann (1952). The journal of Max Ehrmann

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Drummy, Deborah Curtis (March 1, 1992). "Historical Treasure Article: Terre Haute writer-philosopher remembered". Vigo County Historical Society. Indiana State University. http://web.indstate.edu/vchs/ht/ht030192.htm. Retrieved on 2009-03-29. 
  2. ^ a b "Max Ehrmann Pamphlets - Biography". Terre Haute, Indiana: Vigo County Public Library. http://www.vigo.lib.in.us/archives/inventories/authors/ehrmannpamph.php. Retrieved on 2009-03-29. 
  3. ^ a b "Alumni: Subpage - Distinguished Service Chapter Citation". Delta Tau Delta. http://www.delts.org/alumni/awards-distinguished-recipients.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-30. "Max Ehrmann, Beta Beta (DePauw), 1894" 
  4. ^ Katz, Barbara J. (Nov 27, 1977). "Popular Prose-Poem is No Work of the Ages. 'Desiderata': a Product Of an Obscure Lawyer" (Fee). Washington Post: p. 31. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/138227252.html?dids=138227252:138227252&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Nov+27%2C+1977&author=By+Barbara+J.+KatzWashington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post++(1974-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=31&desc=Popular+Prose-Poem+is+No+Work+of+the+Ages%26. Retrieved on 2009-03-29.  Reproduced by Volkert Braren
  5. ^ a b Matthews, James Newton (1897). "Deltas in Literature". The Rainbow of the Delta Tau Delta. (DTK Beta Upsilon 1878). Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. pp. 298-299.  V. 21. Original from the New York Public Library. Digitized Oct 25, 2006.
  6. ^ a b "Max Ehrmann Poet, Prophet, Philsopher" (PDF). The Wabash Valley Remembers: A Chronicle, 1787-1938. Terre Haute. 1938. pp. 52—52. http://www.vigo.lib.in.us/archives/genhistories/wabvalrem/pt44.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-03-30. 

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