27 Facts About Helmut Birkhan

Helmut Birkhan was born on 1 February 1938 and is an Austrian philologist who is Professor Emeritus of Old High German Language and Literature and the former Managing Director of the Institute for Germanic Studies at the University of Vienna.

Helmut Birkhan has taught generations of students at Vienna, as is well known as a popularizer of scholarship for the broader Austrian public, particularly young people.

Helmut Birkhan has tutored many influential scholars, including Hermann Reichert, Rudolf Simek, Florian Kragl, Melitta Adamson, Fritz Peter Knapp and Alfred Ebenbauer, and continues to teach, write and research.

Helmut Birkhan was born in Vienna, Austria on 1 February 1938, the son of Josef Birkhan, a civil engineer, and Maria Muller.

Helmut Birkhan received his PhD in 1962 under the supervision of Otto Hofler, with the dissertation Die Verwandlung in der Volkserzahlung.

Helmut Birkhan lectured at the University of Wales from 1961 to 1962.

In Helmut Birkhan, Hofler saw the same capabilities for interdisciplinary learning which was characteristic of his own teacher, the famed Rudolf Much.

In 1968 Helmut Birkhan received the prestigious two-year Humboldt Research Fellowship to pursue further studies at the University of Gottingen, and subsequently studied archaeology with Herbert Jankuhn, Indo-European studies with Oswald Szemerenyi, Celtic studies with Josef Weisweiler, and Scandinavistics with Heinrich Beck.

In January 1970, Helmut Birkhan habilitated in Ancient Germanistics with a thesis on the relationship between Celts and Germanic peoples in classical antiquity.

Helmut Birkhan was appointed Professor of Ancient German Language and Literature at the University of Vienna in 1972.

Helmut Birkhan was appointed Managing Director of the Institute for Germanic Studies at the University of Vienna.

In 1988, Helmut Birkhan established Niederlandistik as a distinct course at Vienna, and subsequently secured the appointment of Herbert van Uffelen to teach this subject.

In 1997, Helmut Birkhan completed an additional habilitation in Celtic studies with the thesis Kelten.

Helmut Birkhan has dedicated himself towards making scholarship available to the broader public, notably appearing as a druid on the children's television program on the Osterreichischer Rundfunk.

Many scholars of prominence have gained their degrees under the supervision of Helmut Birkhan, including Hermann Reichert, Rudolf Simek, Manfred Kern, Florian Kragl, Melitta Adamson, Sang Bea Pack, Fritz Peter Knapp and Alfred Ebenbauer.

Helmut Birkhan has been a visiting professor at several universities, including the universities of Picardy Jules Verne, Amsterdam and Antwerp.

Helmut Birkhan has received many awards for his scholarship, and was in 1990 made an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Helmut Birkhan his a member of several distinguished learned societies, including the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde, Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Helmut Birkhan has had two festschrift's published in his honor, Ir Sult Sprechen Willekomen, which was edited by Christa Agnes Tuczay, and Kulturphilologie.

Helmut Birkhan retired from the University of Vienna as Professor Emeritus in October 2006, but continues to teach and research there, and has continued to publish.

Helmut Birkhan cultivates interdisciplinary research, and has cooperated extensively with historians, philosophers and other scholars.

Helmut Birkhan sees Celtic and Germanic studies as primarily a study of culture.

Helmut Birkhan is known for his translations of works from various languages, including Middle Welsh and Middle High German works.

Helmut Birkhan is the author of hundreds of scholarly books and articles in German, English and other languages.

Helmut Birkhan is the works of numerous works intended for popular audiences, some of them of humorous nature.

Helmut Birkhan married Ingvild Helmut Birkhan, a prominent philologist and philosopher, in 1965.

Helmut Birkhan's hobbies include botany, photography, music, cooking, dancing, mountain sports, skiing and sailing.