Franz Xaver Schmid

Who was Franz Xaver Schmid?

Franz Xaver Schmid; name sometimes given as Franz Xaver Schmid-Schwarzenberg was an Austrian-German educator and philosopher born in Schwarzenberg am Böhmerwald.

From 1840 to 1844 he studied Catholic theology in Salzburg, receiving his doctorate of philosophy several years later in Freiburg im Breisgau. Afterwards he taught classes in history and philosophy at the Lyceum in Rastatt. In 1856 he became a lecturer at the University of Erlangen, where he subsequently became an associate professor of philosophy and pedagogy. During the 1850s, Schmid left the Catholic faith and embraced Protestantism. He died in Munich on November 28, 1883.

In 1871 at Erlangen he introduced the Verein für Volkserziehung, which was essentially a child care center aimed at providing education and supervision for young boys. Success of the project eventually led to similar institutions being set up in other Bavarian cities; Augsburg, Munich, Fürth and Bamberg. Schmid was the author of numerous works on religious philosophy and education; some of his better known publications are as follows:

Christliche Religionsphilosophie,