1. In 1856, Karl May commenced teacher training in Waldenburg, but in 1859 was expelled for stealing six candles.
22 Facts About Karl May
1. 2.
For four years, from 1865 to 1869, Karl May was jailed in the workhouse at Osterstein Castle, Zwickau.
3.
Karl May resigned in 1876 and was employed by Bruno Radelli of Dresden.
4.
In 1882, Karl May returned to the employ of Munchmeyer and began the first of five large colportage novels.
5.
From 1879, Karl May was published in Deutscher Hausschatz, a Catholic weekly journal from the press of Friedrich Pustet in Regensburg.
6.
In 1880, Karl May began the Orient Cycle, which ran, with interruption, until 1888.
7.
In December 1895, Karl May moved to the Villa Shatterhand in Alt-Radebeul, which he purchased from the Ziller brothers.
8.
In 1899, Karl May traveled to Egypt then Sumatra with his servant, Sejd Hassan.
9.
On 22 March 1912, Karl May was invited by the Academic Society for Literature and Music in Vienna to present a lecture entitled Empor ins Reich der Edelmenschen.
10.
Karl May died in his own Villa Shatterhand on 30 March 1912.
11.
Karl May wrote five large colportage novels, which he published either anonymously or under pseudonyms between 1882 and 1888.
12.
Karl May was a member of the "Lyra" choir in about 1864 and composed musical works, including a version of Ave Maria and Vergiss mich nicht within Ernste Klange, 1899.
13.
Karl May's first translated work is considered to have been the first half of the Orient Cycle into a French daily in 1881.
14.
Karl May's books inspired hobbyist clubs, where Germans pretend to be cowboys or Indians, the first of which was the Cowboy Club founded in Munich in 1913.
15.
In 1920, May's friend Marie Luise Droop, her husband Adolf Droop and the Karl May Press founded Ustad-Film, a production company.
16.
Karl May became bankrupt in 1921 and the films are lost.
17.
From 1962 to 1968, a series of Karl May movies were made.
18.
Karl May's works have been adapted for audio dramas, particularly in the 1960s.
19.
Eighty-seven issues of Karl May were published by Standaard Uitgeverij from 1962 to 1987.
20.
In 1960, the Karl May Foundation received the Karl May Press.
21.
From 1956 to 1984, the museum in Radebeul was called the "Indianer Museum", because Karl May's books were suppressed by the East German government; its original name was restored in 1986.
22.
The "Karl May Society", founded on 22 March 1969, is the largest organisation, with approximately 1800 members.