Fritz Marti was born January 1, 1894 in Winterthur, Switzerland. After serving in the Swiss Army during World War I, Marti earned two degrees in Mechanical Engineering (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, 1917, 1918) before completing his Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Bern (1922) under the tutelage of Fritz Medicus.
Marti's teaching experience began at the University of Oregon in 1923, and took him to 11 institutions of higher learning before his retirement from Southern Illinois University in 1974. In the meantime, Marti and his wife also founded the Marti School, a college preparatory academy in Ohio, now known as the Miami Valley School.
Marti published four books on philosophy, the most notable of which is On Being Human: The Life of Truth and Its Realization, a translation of work by his mentor Fritz Medicus. His scholarship focused primarily upon post-Kantian idealism, but Marti was also widely respected in Hegelian circles and indeed "well versed in all sorts of speculative philosophy, especially Catholic philosophy and Continental rationalism." Marti was also considered an expert on the work of Friedrich Schelling.
Fritz Marti died in 1991 at the age of 98.
1894
Born on New Year's Day in Winterthur, (Canton of Zürich)
Switzerland.
1900
Begins public elementary school in Winterthur.
1906
Begins secondary education at the Municipal Gymnasium Bern,
scientific branch (Realschule).
1913
In September, receives, with maximal honors, Certificate of
Maturity for university study from the Realschule.
1914
Begins his term of compulsory service in the Swiss Army. During his
term of service, which ends in 1923, Marti attains the rank of First
Lieutenant in the Motor Transportation Corps, acting as a technical
instructor and company commander in charge of emergency tasks.
1917
Receives the first of two pre-diplomas from the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology - Zürich. Majors in Mechanical Engineering and
minors in Mathematics. (Marti is later inducted as an Honorary Member of
the Academic Society of Mechanical Engineers)
1918
Begins a course of study in Philosophy at the University of Zürich,
which he will continue until 1920.
1920
Initiates his candidacy for a Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University
of Bern.
1922
In June, receives a Ph.D. from the University of Bern,
majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Mathematics and Psychology. During
his time at the University of Bern, Marti studies under Professor Fritz
Medicus.
Manages, for one year, the Bern to Gurten Electric
Cable Railway.
1923
Hired as an Instructor by the University of Oregon.
1925
Relocates to Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, where he is
eventually promoted to Assistant Professor.
1926
Begins a year-long residence as Lecturer pro tempore at Haverford
College, Haverford, Pennsylvania.
1927
Returns to Goucher College, where he will remain until
1932.
1930
Becomes a Naturalized U.S. citizen.
1932
Relocates to Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia, where he teaches
education courses and establishes the Fine Arts Department.
1935
Relocates to the University of Maryland, where he is promoted to
the rank of Professor and serves as Chair of the Department of Philosophy.
For several summers he teaches Philosophy of Education courses for
teachers. He remains affiliated with the University of Maryland until
1946.
1936
Concurrent with his appointment at the University of Maryland,
Marti also serves as Lecturer in Philosophy and Art History to the
Graduate School of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He fulfills this
role until 1941.
1937
Marries, on June 5, Gertrude Austin, a pianist from Seattle,
Washington. Over time the Marti family will come to include six children -
Judith, Ursula, Felix, Moira, Vreneli and Rebecca.
1941
Serves a one-year term as President of the Southern Society for
Philosophy and Psychology.
1943
Begins a year-long residence as Visiting Professor at the
University of Chicago.
1944
Serves a one-year term as President of the Southern Society for
Philosophy and Religion.
1946
Relocates to Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio, where he serves as
Chair of the Department of Philosophy. He remains affiliated with Marietta
College until 1953.
1947
With his wife, Gertrude, founds The Berglihof School - which is
eventually renamed The Marti School - a college preparatory academy that
stresses languages and history. Initially located in Salem, Ohio, the
school later moves to Dayton.
1961
Begins a year-long residence as Visiting Professor at Antioch
College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he lectures on Greek
philosophy.
1963
Retires from The Marti School.
Begins a
two-year residence as Visiting Professor at Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio,
where he delivers courses on aesthetics, Kant, Hegel, Marx and the history
of philosophy.
1965
Gertrude Marti retires from The Marti School, which is
renamed The Miami Valley School.
Relocates to Southern
Illinois University where he serves under the title of Lecturer until
1974. This is Marti's final academic appointment.
1973
Publishes a translation of Fritz Medicus' On
Being Human: The Life of Truth and Its Realization (St. Louis:
Warren H. Green).
1974
Publishes a translation of Fritz Medicus' Religion, Reason, and Man (St. Louis: Warren H.
Green).
1979
Authors Religion and Philosophy
(Washington, D. C.: University Press of America).
1980
Publishes an annotated translation of four essays by Friedrich
Wilhelm Joseph Schelling titled The Unconditional in
Human Knowledge: Four Early Essays by F. W. J. Schelling
(Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Bucknell University Press).
1981
Publishes Unpopular Truths
(Washington, D.C.: University Press of America).
1991
Dies at the age of 98.
From the guide to the Fritz Marti Papers, 1909-2009, (Oregon State University Special Collections, The Valley Library)
