Theodor Georg von Karajan, from 1869 Ritter von Karajan (22 January 1810 – 28 April 1873), was an Austrian Germanist, historian, academic and politician. A prominent scholar of medieval German literature and comparative linguistics, he served as president of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna from 1866 to 1869, was a deputy to the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848, and served as a member of the Austrian House of Lords from 1867 until his death. He was the great-grandfather of the conductor Herbert von Karajan.
Family and early life Theodor von Karajan was born in Vienna into the Karajan family (originally named Karaianis or Caraion), originating from Kozani in Macedonia (then part of Rumelia in the Ottoman Empire). The family has been described as being of Aromanian, Hellenized Aromanian or Greek ancestry. The family's presence in Kozani is documented as early as 1743.
His father was Georg Johann Karajan (born Georgios Giannis Karagiannis or Gheorghe Ion Caraion), a merchant who operated a cotton trading business in the Saxon city of Chemnitz. His mother was Zoë Domnando, a native of Constantinople. On 1 June 1792, during an imperial vicariate, Elector Friedrich August III of Saxony elevated Georg Johann Karajan, along with his wife and sons Demeter and Theodor, into the hereditary nobility of the Holy Roman Empire. The nobility title was officially confirmed in the Austrian Empire on 4 January 1832 for Karajan's widow and sons.
Karajan was an Eastern Orthodox Christian throughout his life. The Romanian national poet Mihai Eminescu later remarked on the family's heritage in the newspaper Timpul, describing Theodor Karajan, alongside the Sina, Dumba, and Tirka families in Vienna, as prominent figures of the Aromanian diaspora who were often mistaken for Greeks.
Through his son, the classicist Max Theodor von Karajan, Theodor was the grandfather of the physician Ernst von Karajan and the great-grandfather of the conductor Herbert von Karajan.
Education and career The young Theodor attended the Greek school of Vienna. Between 1826 and 1828, Karajan studied philosophy at the University of Vienna, graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy degree. He subsequently entered the Austrian civil service, holding posts successively at the Aulic War Council (Hofkriegsrat), the Court Chamber Archive (Hofkammerarchiv), and the Imperial Court Library (Hofbibliothek).
Through his scholarly work in comparative linguistics and medieval Austrian and German history, Karajan gained widespread academic recognition. Beginning in the 1840s, he was admitted as a member or honorary member of numerous historical and academic societies across Europe. In 1848, he was elected a member of the newly founded Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna, later serving as its vice-president from 1851 and as its president from 1866 to 1869.
During the Revolutions of 1848, Karajan was elected as a deputy to the Frankfurt Parliament, representing the Lower Austrian district of Guntersdorf from 24 May to 20 September 1848. In parliament, he aligned with the moderate center-right Casino faction.
In 1850, Karajan was appointed professor to the newly established chair of German Language and Literature at the University of Vienna. However, he resigned the position the following year, feeling subjected to hostility and discrimination on account of his Eastern Orthodox faith.
Karajan was elected a corresponding member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in 1853 and an external member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 1859. He also became a corresponding member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 1859, being elevated to honorary membership in 1864. In 1872 was elected as a honorary member of the Hellenic Philological Society of Constantinople.
In 1867, Karajan was appointed a life member of the Austrian House of Lords (Herrenhaus), serving until his death.
Knighthood and death
On 27 May 1869, Emperor Franz Joseph I conferred upon him the Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold. Pursuant to the statutes of the order, he was subsequently elevated to the hereditary Austrian rank of Ritter (knight) in September 1869, adopting the title Ritter von Karajan.
Karajan died on 28 April 1873 at the age of 63, succumbing to pulmonary edema at his residence at Fleischmarkt No. 1 in Vienna's Greek quarter (Griechenviertel), on the site where the Orendihof now stands. He was buried two days later at St. Marx Cemetery (Sankt Marxer Friedhof). An honorary dedicated grave (ehrenhalber gewidmetes Grab) is also maintained in his memory at the Mauer Cemetery (Group 8, Row 1, Number 20) in Vienna.
Legacy The Verein für Geschichte der Stadt Wien (Association for the History of the City of Vienna) awards the Theodor-Georg-Ritter-von-Karajan-Medaille in his honour. In 1889, the street Karajangasse in Vienna's 20th district, Brigittenau, was named after him.
Selected publications Karajan published numerous editions of medieval German texts, historical chronicles, and studies on Austrian history: Frühlingsgabe für Freunde älterer Litteratur (Vienna: Braumüller, 1839) Michael Behaims Buch von den Wienern 1462–65 (Vienna: Hölzl, 1843) Deutsche Sprachdenkmale des 12. Jahrhunderts (Vienna: Braumüller und Seidel, 1846) Verbrüderungsbuch des Stiftes St. Peter zu Salzburg (Vienna, 1852) Über Heinrich den Teichner (Vienna: Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1855) Kleine Quellen zur Geschichte Österreichs (Vienna, 1855; inaugural volume of the source collection Fontes rerum Austriacarum) Die alte Kaiserburg zu Wien vor 1500 (Vienna, 1863) Abraham a Sancta Clara (Vienna: Gerold, 1867)
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