Bridgewater State University - Alpha Yearbook (Bridgewater, MA)

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NORMAL OFFERING 17 Er. Zlirang E. Kirmagvr. FRANZ H. KIRMAYER was born March 25, 1840, at Unterhoerl- bach, a small village of lower Bavaria. He attended the common schools till his eleventh year, then entered the Latin school of the neighboring town of Abenaberg CAbruina castraj and after grad- uating from its two years' course he was admitted to the Gymna- sium of Wetten on the Danube. After graduating from that Gymnasium he went to the University of Munich for three years and then to the University of Giessen for one year, in both of which universities he devoted himself to scientific and literary subjects, taking chemistry as his specialty and language as a pastime. After graduation from the University he travelled exten- sively, both on the continent of Europe and in England, and came finally to the United States, where he arrived in the summer of 1863. Here he pursued the occupation of decorative painter and paperhanger, a trade which he had learned during his stay as a student at the Gymnasium of Wetten. As the war became more fierce from day to day, and all his friends enlisted, he left his lucrative work and joined Co. G, 54th Ohio Vols., Zouaves, in March, 1864. He was with General Sherman during the Georgia campaign, and was in many a hard-fought contest at Resaca, Dal- ton, Dallas, Kennesaw, and other places, until on July 3, 1864, at Nickajack Creek near the Chattahoochee, not far from Atlanta, he was blown up by a rebel shell. The loss of his left leg, a severe wound in his right leg, injury to back, eyes, and head from the explosion left him helpless on the field. His injuries were so severe that he was considered beyond hope, and either through rash belief of rumors, or jealousy, he was reported dead. He had been appointed Sergeant from the ranks for gallantry at Kennesaw Mountain. When after many months in various hospitals he was discharged in March, 1865, he betook himself to Ohio, where he worked as a clerk and accountant during the day, and in the evening as teacher of a private evening school. In 1867 he went back to Germany to prepare himself for the

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NORMAL GFFERING 19 profession of teaching. In 1868 he was appointed Vice-Consul of the United States at Munich. This position required only two hours' work a day and so gave him ample time for study besides helping him to defray his expenses. At that time the Hon. J. W. Dickinson, our former Secretary of the Board of Educa- tion, came to his office and asked for a letter of introduction to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to get permission to visit all the schools of Munich from the lowest to the University. Mr. Kir- mayer procured this permission and accompanied Mr. Dickinson on his visits. Through Mr. Dickinson he was engaged to teach here in the Massachusetts Normal Schools, where the four years' course Was to be started in 1870. Accordingly he sold out all his house- hold goods in the summer of 1870 so as to be here in September. But when he wished to leave Munich, war suddenly broke out betweeen France and Germany, and he had to stay in Bavaria, as no passengers or goods were carried by the railroads. He went with his wife and two children home to his father, where he stayed until the end of September, when he received a dispatch from his agent that he could pass through Holland. Mr. Kirmayer arrived in New York about the 15th day of Gctober, and knowing that the schools here had begun long ago, he wrote to Mr. Dick- inson, then principal of Westfield Normal School, that he was in New York and intended to go to Cincinnati. A prompt dispatch, that he was expected with every steamer, brought him here, where he began to teach and where he has been teaching since. In 1894, Mr. Kirmayer applied to the University of Munich for permission to be examined for the degree of Doctor of Phil- osophy, but as he could not present himself in June or October, when such examinations are held, he was referred to the Univer- sity of Washington. From there he was referred to Boston College, whose faculty examined him and upon satisfactory examination conferred upon him the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, June 27, 1895. For the past 49 years Mr. Kirmayer has been instructor of foreign languages in the State Normal School here.