Gerold Meyer von Knonau (1804–1858)
Gerold Meyer von Knonau (2 March 1804 - 1 November 1858) was a Swiss geographer and historian whose most enduring contribution to scholarship may well have been his pioneering work between 1837 and 1858 as cantonal archivist for Zürich and the surrounding region. He is often confused, wrongly, with his eponymous son, who was also a Swiss historian: Gerold Meyer von Knonau, the son, was a prolific contributor to the widely respected Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (multi-volume biographical dictionary). Life Gerold Meyer von Knonau was born and grew up, like his father before him, in Zürich. He was the elder of his parents' two recorded sons. There were also two sisters. Ludwig Meyer von Knonau (1769–1841), his father, was a leading politician who, like his son and grandson, had himself acquired a measure of notability as an historian. The Meyer von Knonau family had been part of (or close to) the Zürich oligarchy since at least as far back as 1363. Regula Lavater-Meyer (1773–1834), Gerold's mother, came from a long line of notable Zürich philosophers and physicians. Her father, Johann Jakob Lavater (1750–1807), was a hospital worker and a city judge. He received his schooling in Zürich and then, in 1824, moved with his brilliant but shy younger brother Konrad to Berlin in order to complete a broadly based programme of study that included civic administration and Jurisprudence. His time in Berlin brought him into contact with German scholars and also enabled him to progress his interest in Geography. One of those whom he met in Berlin in connection with his Geography studies was Carl Ritter. The two men became lifelong friends. From Berlin he moved west, probably during 1826, to France, where he met the francophile philosopher Philipp Albert Stapfer, with whom he subsequently corresponded. Following a lengthy stay, he returned home to Zürich in 1827. Between 1827 and 1837 he worked in an administrative capacity for the city administration. His work in local government left him with time and energy for various forms of charitable work and to sustain a parallel career as a researcher. He produced a couple of popular-scholarly books during this period, reflecting his interests in Swiss history and geography, and with at least half an eye on the schools market. Within the Swiss intellectual élite he became increasingly well networked as a side-effect of his research work, notably with the polymath statistician-politician Stefano Franscini, with whom he would later collaborate on at least one statistical project. Gerold Meyer von Knonau married the pharmacist's daughter, Emmerentiana Cleopha Meyer (1817–71) in 1837. Emmerentiana is described as a highly intelligent and well-educated woman who was able to support her husband's work both during his life and after his relatively early death. The marriage was followed in 1843 by the birth of the couple's son, another scholarly historian called Gerold Meyer von Knonau. After a lengthy trip abroad Gerold Meyer von Knonau fell ill with Typhus and died on 1 November 1858 at Zürich. His body was buried at