The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Becker, Karl Friedrich

BECKER, Karl Friedrich, a German historian, born in Berlin in 1777, died there, March 15, 1806. He studied in Berlin and Halle, became a teacher, and published Weltgeschichte für Kinder und Kinderlehrer (9 vols., Berlin, 1801-'5). Woltmann added to this series a 10th volume, and A. Menzel two more; and Adolf Schmidt's edition of 1860-'67 contains 20 volumes, including Arnd's Geschichte der letzten vierzig Jahre and its continuations to 1867. The same author's Geschichte der Jahre 1867-1871 (1st vol., 1872) is also to serve as a supplement. Becker's original nine volumes continue to be the most popular part of the work, especially among juvenile readers. Equally attractive for the young are his three volumes of Erzählungen aus der alten Welt (Halle, 1801-'3; 4th vol. by Günther, 1842, containing Die Perserkriege; 9th and revised ed. by Eckstein, 1857).