Tomorrow, April 14th, we celebrate the 160th Birthday of Maximilian Berlitz, the founder of our company.
We would like to share with you some information about his life:
Maximilian Delphinus Berlitz was a native of Germany. The date of birth on his death certificate is April 14, 1852. However, U.S. census records suggest that the year 1847 is probably more accurate. Little is known of his early life, but it is believed that he came from the Württemberg area in the south-western part of Germany. He is said to have travelled extensively in his youth and to have been fluent in more than a dozen languages, including all the major Romance languages and several Scandinavian and Slavic languages.
Maybe you ask yourself about the character ‘D’ in his name, and yes, it was because his name was Maximilian Delphinus, but he was born as Maximilian David. He changed his middle name on arriving in the United States, as this was common practice at the time.
We can assume that Berlitz had had a variety of jobs since arriving on American shores and his savings, if any, were running low. According to a frequently related anecdote, Berlitz found himself one day in a clock maker’s shop in Westerly, and overheard the clock maker commenting about a clock in the window that could not be repaired. With characteristic self-confidence, Berlitz boldly offered to try to fix the clock himself. Apparently, he succeeded in getting the old timepiece running again and was hired on the spot by the store owner. The job gave him a foothold and he had time to return to his true love: languages.
Origins of the Berlitz Method®
In need of a French instructor, Berlitz placed an ad in The New York Times and was pleased to received an impressive résumé from a Frenchman named Nicholas Joly. When Joly arrived in Providence, Berlitz was shocked to discover that he barely spoke a word of English! Ill from overwork, Berlitz instructed Joly to point at objects and describe them, act out verbs as best as he could, and make the students repeat and answer questions. With that, Berlitz turned the French class over to his new assistant and took to his bed, hoping for the best. Several weeks later, Berlitz returned to find animated students chattering away in elegantly accented French… and the Berlitz Method® was born!
