Herrmann Julius Meyer

Who was Herrmann Julius Meyer?

Herrmann Julius Meyer was a German publisher born in Gotha. He was the son of publisher Joseph Meyer.

After his father's death in 1856, Herrmann Meyer took charge of Bibliographisches Institut, a publishing firm in Hildburghausen. In 1874 he moved the headquarters to Leipzig, and in 1884 handed over the business to his sons, Arndt and Hans, the latter renowned for his ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

In 1888 he established Stiftung zur Erbauung billiger Wohnungen, an association for the construction of inexpensive housing for working-class people in Leipzig. In 1900 the project had achieved foundation status, and by 1914 there were four "residential colonies" with a total of around 2700 homes in the districts of Lindenau, Eutritzsch, Reudnitz and Kleinzschocher.