Zimmer, Heinrich (1890–1943)

One of the best-known interpreters of

Hindu thought and mythology. After

studying Hebrew literature, German

philology and history of art at Berlin,

he discovered his interest in ancient

India. Dismissed from his position in

Heidelberg by the Nazi government

(because of his Jewish wife), he first

moved to Oxford and then to the USA

where he became visiting professor at

Columbia University. His writings

cover a wide range, from mythology to

medicine, from Buddhism to Jainism to

Hinduism. His early writings were in

German: Kunstform und Yoga(1926),

Ewiges Indien (1930), Indische

Sphaeren(1935). His English works

were posthumously edited by his for-

mer student Joseph Campbell: The Art

of Indian Asia(1955), Philosophies of

India (1951), Myths and Symbols in

Indian Art and Civilization (1946),

The King and the Corpse (1947).

Zimmer had a gift for presenting

Indian ideas in an intellectually and

aesthetically accessible and appealing

way, and created a great amount

of interest in Hinduism among the

general public.

Z

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