Ethel Mary Fiedler (wife of Hermann Georg Fiedler)

Hermann Georg Fiedler (1862-1945) born in Zittau, Germany, was a German scholar renowned for his efforts to promote a strong intercultural relationship between Germany and Britain.

He was elected to the German professorship at Mason College (which later became the University of Birmingham) in October 1890 and played a major part in the reorganisation of the university and the creation of the school of modern languages in 1903.

In July 1907, Fiedler was appointed to the new chair of German at Oxford. In his role as chairman of the faculty board, Fiedler played a leading role in the establishment of the honour school of modern languages.

In 1926 he became secretary to the curators of the Taylor Institution in Oxford. In this position, he dedicated himself to the improvement of the Taylor Institution Library and supervised the erection of the Taylor extension, which was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1932.

Fiedler married his former pupil Ethel Mary (1870/71-1933) in 1899. He and his wife had two daughters, Herma (b. 1902) and Beryl (b.1913). The death of Herma on 2nd May 1920 caused a period of severe depression for Ethel, which continued until her death in 1933.

From the guide to the Main Incidents in the married Life of Hermann Georg Fiedler and Ethel Mary Fiedler, December 11th 1899 to May 13th 1922, (Taylor Institution Library)