Benedict Waldeck

Benedikt Franz Leo Ignatz Waldeck (31 July 1802 – 12 May 1870) was a left-leaning deputy in the Prussian National Assembly and later in the Second Chamber of the Landtag of Prussia. He is considered one of the leading left-wing liberals in Prussia during the German revolutions of 1848–1849. In May 1849 he was arrested in Berlin for high treason, but was acquitted in December. Waldeck is an important figure in German constitutional history and in the 1860s he became one of Otto von Bismarck's most important domestic political opponents.

Waldeck attended the Gymnasium Paulinum in Münster, finishing his schooling in 1817. Afterwards he attended philosophical lectures at the University of Münster. He then began studying law at the University of Göttingen in 1819. In 1822 he completed his studies in Göttingen with a doctorate at the age of only 19.

After that he continued his legal training in Münster. In 1828, he passed the major state examination and was appointed Assessor. He then began working as a judge in Halberstadt, Paderborn and Vlotho. With her he had nine children, four of whom died young.

In May 1849 he was arrested in Berlin for high treason, but was acquitted in December. Sir John Retcliffe (real name: Hermann Goedsche) was centrally involved in a forgery scandal to discredit Waldeck and then lost his government position for his criminal participation.

Despite his acquittal, Waldeck and other democrats were unable to remain politically active after the failed revolution under the government of Otto Theodor von Manteuffel. However, he was able to retain his position as a judge at the Prussian Supreme Tribunal.

Death and afterlife

His stomach ailment, which is said to have been cancerous, was the cause of his death on 12 May 1870. In 1890 a statue was erected in Berlin-Kreuzberg in the Waldeckpark, which is named after him.