BASEDOW, JOHANN BERNHARD Ger man educational reformer, was born at Hamburg, the son of a hair dresser. He received an education at the Johanneum in that town. In 1753 he was chosen professor of moral philosophy and belles lettres in the academy of Sorb in Denmark. On account of his theological opinions he was in 1761 removed from this post and transferred to Altona, where some of his published works brought him into great disfavour with the orthodox clergy. To wards the end of 1767 he abandoned theology to devote himself with the same ardour to education, of which he conceived the project of a general reform in Germany. In 1768 appeared his Vorstellung an M enschen f reunde fur Schulen, ne bs t dem Plan eines Elementarbuches der menschlichen Erkenntnisse, which was strongly influenced by Rousseau's Emile. His Elementarwerk, 1774, contains a complete system of primary education, intended to develop the intelligence of the pupils and to bring them, so far as possible, into contact with realities, not with mere words. The work was received with great favour, and Basedow obtained means to establish an institute for education at Dessau, which he named Philanthropin. Similar institutions sprang up all over the land. Basedow, unfortunately, was little calculated by nature or habit to succeed in an employment which required the greatest regularity, patience and attention; he resigned his directorship of the institution in 1778, and it was finally closed in 1793.
See H. Rathmann, Beitriige zur Lebensgeschichte Basedows (Magde burg, 179i) ; J. C. Meyer, Leben, Charakter and Schrif ten Basedows (Hamburg, 1791-92) ; G. P. R. Hahn, Basedow and sein Verhaltnis zu Rousseau (Leipzig, 1885) ; A. Pinloche, Basedow et le philanthropin isme (189o) ; C. Gossgen, Rousseau and Basedow (1891) .