Rudolph Erich Raspe

Overview:

• Legal Name: Raspe, Rudolph Erich
• Place of Birth: Hannover, Hanover [Germany]
• Date of Birth: 1737
• Date of Death: 1794
• Pseudonyms:
  • Anonymous
  • Rudolph Raspe

Notes:

Until 1767, Raspe worked in a number of university libraries, and was one of the first scholars to examine the recently discovered epic poems of Ossian (which turned out to be actually written by the contemporary James Macpherson). As a librarian, Raspe also had access to certain rare gems and coins, and in 1775 had to escape to England to avoid arrest for theft. It was while in England that Raspe anonymously wrote the first Baron Münchhausen works, which were later translated and expanded by the poet G. A. Bürger. Raspe's authorship was revealed in a biography of Bürger in 1847. It should be noted that Raspe new the real Baron Münchhausen while living in Göttingen.

Resources:

• Wikipedia article on Rudolph Erich Raspe