Marti, Fritz, 1894-

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)