Zedler, Gottfried

Librarian, historian

Born: 05.12.1860 in Vegesack near Bremen

Died: probably 1945 (on the run)

Zedler studied German and classical philology as well as history in Tübingen and Leipzig. He received his doctorate in Leipzig in 1885, passed the examination for the higher teaching profession in 1886 and joined the library service in Marburg in 1887.

In 1895 he moved to the Nassau State Library and was promoted to senior librarian in 1908. From 1929 until his retirement in 1933, he acted as acting director. Zedler succeeded in making the library's holdings more accessible by means of a modern subject catalog and had the entire book collection recorded alphabetically and systematically. Furthermore, in 1931 he presented a revised manuscript catalog and an index of incunabula.

His academic work focused on research into book printing and the cultural history of the Middle Ages. He was a member of the Verein für Nassauische Altertumskunde und Geschichtsforschung, of which he was secretary and editor of the Nassauische Annalen from 1897-1921. As secretary of the Historical Commission for Nassau, he was responsible for the publication of the commission's notices.

Zedler may have died during the invasion of Soviet troops near Küstrin in early February 1945.