| Surname | May | |
| First Name | Albrecht Friedrich | |
| Gender | male | |
| Place of birth | Schadau (Strättligen, today municipality of Thun) | |
| Place of death | Bern | |
| Year of birth | 1773 | |
| Year of death | 1853 | |
| Profession | Public official | |
| Religion | Protestant | |
| Place(s) of activity | Bern | |
| Century | 18 | |
| Biographical information | Son of Friedrich, bailiff of Signau, and Anna Rosina. In 1807, he married Maria Anna Jacqueline Tschiffeli, daughter of Franz Anton, a foreign service officer. Political Institute of Bern, traineeship in administration, law studies in Jena (1796-1797, with Johann Gottlieb Fichte, among others). Secretary of the Swiss Executive Board (1798), diplomatic missions in Paris (1799 and 1802). General Commissioner of the canton of Geneva during the suppression of the Bourla-Papey insurrection (1802). National Prefect of the canton of Zurich (1802). Trip to Italy and training as a lawyer (1803). General Commissioner of the fiefdoms (1804-1815). Member of the Grand Council of Bern (1814-1846). Opponent of the Restoration and of the incorporation of the diocese of Basel into Bern. Bailiff of Courtelary (1816-1823). Chancellor of the canton of Bern (1827-1837). His liberal ideas and his "centre right" policy, situating him apart from the other parties, contributed to Bern's smooth transition to the Regeneration regime. | |
| Title | (a) Tagebuch zu Jena angefangen 1796 | |
| Genre / Art |
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| Additional genre details | ||
| Period writen | 18 April - 31 Juli 1796 | |
| Period covered | 18 April - 31 Juli 1796 | |
| Format / Language | Manuscript, German | |
| Physical description | 60 pages, 16,5/10cm. |
| Content | During the year 1796, May is in Jena, where he spends three semesters expanding his knowledge of political science. The diary only deals with his first time in Jena. It begins with his arrival, notes his first "walking attempts" in the city, his excursions and everyday student life. He also writes about his encounters with intellectuals like Fichte, Wieland or Goethe. The shelfmark also includes a report on the journey to Jena from 3 to18 April, in two versions, a fair copy and a first version. Under the same shelfmark (A 5ff), you will find further travel reports from Dresden, Berlin, Holland, Paris and Italy, also composed by May. |
| Place of deposit | StABE (Bern) |
| Classification | N A[lbrecht] F[riedrich] May A 4 |
| Document | |
| Transcription | |
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| Secondary litterature |
E. Blösch: Albrecht Friedrich May. In: Sammlung Bernischer Biographien, Band 1. Bern 1884, S. 637-640. Lauterburg, Ludwig: Albrecht Friedrich May, Staatsschreiber von Bern, dargestellt in seinem Leben und Wirken. In: Berner Taschenbuch auf das Jahr 1860, S. 201-347. |
| Other sources | |
| Related documents | |
| Author | Basel |
