Georg M. Grossman
Encyclopedia
Georg M. Grossman was a German-American Lutheran academic and church leader.
, a town in the Grand Duchy of Hesse
, Germany
. He studied theology at Erlangen
and later at Nürnberg. He was strongly influenced by missionary minded pastor Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe
of Neuendettelsau
, Bavaria
. Grossman subsequently immigrated to the United States
, where he became one of the organizers of the Lutheran Synod of Iowa, serving as its president from 1854 through 1893.
Grossmann had originally been sent by Pastor Löhe to establish a teacher training school for German immigrants in America. Grossman served as the founder Wartburg College
. With five students, Grossmann started the teacher-training school for German immigrants in 1852. Grossman would serve as president of the college from 1852 until 1868. Starting in Saginaw, Michigan
, the location of the college would be moved many times between Illinois
and Iowa
until permanently settling in Waverly, Iowa
in 1935.
. Grossmann and Löhe Halls at Wartburg College are named in memory of Georg Grossmann and his mentor Pastor Löhe. The Franklin I. and Irene List Saemann Foundation was founded to support Wartburg College by Irene List Saemann, granddaughter of Georg M. Grossman.
Background
Grossman was born in Groß-BieberauGroß-Bieberau
Groß-Bieberau is a town in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 15 km southeast of Darmstadt. It has several sister cities, one of which is Millstadt, Illinois....
, a town in the Grand Duchy of Hesse
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He studied theology at Erlangen
Erlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
and later at Nürnberg. He was strongly influenced by missionary minded pastor Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe
Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe
Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe was a pastor of the Lutheran Church, Neo-Lutheran writer, and is often regarded as being a founder of the deaconess movement in Lutheranism and a founding sponsor of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod . He was a pastor in nineteenth-century Germany...
of Neuendettelsau
Neuendettelsau
Neuendettelsau is a local authority in Middle Franconia, Germany. Neuendettelsau is situated 20 miles southwest of Nuremberg and 12 miles east of Ansbach. Population: 7.833 ....
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. Grossman subsequently immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he became one of the organizers of the Lutheran Synod of Iowa, serving as its president from 1854 through 1893.
Grossmann had originally been sent by Pastor Löhe to establish a teacher training school for German immigrants in America. Grossman served as the founder Wartburg College
Wartburg College
Wartburg College is a selective four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Waverly, Iowa. Wartburg West is in Denver, Colorado....
. With five students, Grossmann started the teacher-training school for German immigrants in 1852. Grossman would serve as president of the college from 1852 until 1868. Starting in Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...
, the location of the college would be moved many times between Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
until permanently settling in Waverly, Iowa
Waverly, Iowa
Waverly is a city in Bremer County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,874 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Bremer County and is part of the Waterloo–Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area....
in 1935.
Legacy
Today Wartburg College is a four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaEvangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
. Grossmann and Löhe Halls at Wartburg College are named in memory of Georg Grossmann and his mentor Pastor Löhe. The Franklin I. and Irene List Saemann Foundation was founded to support Wartburg College by Irene List Saemann, granddaughter of Georg M. Grossman.