About Josef Meier
Lived 1874 – 1945 (aged 71). Josef Meier was a linguist, translator, catholic priest, ethnologist, catholic and missionary.
Josef Meier (also P. Jos. Meier, Paul Jos. Meier, Joseph Meier, Paul Joseph Meier, Paul Josef Meier) (7 November 1874 – 28 November 1945) was a missionary and ethnologist. He was a member of the Roman Catholic Missionaries of the Sacred Heart order. He worked in the Bismarck Archipelago with the peoples of the Gazelle Peninsula on New Britain Island in Papua New Guinea.
Life
Meier recorded myths and stories of the peoples of the Gazelle peninsula in the local Tolai language, and then translated them into German. In this work Meier employed an early version of the interlinear gloss. His work describing the myths and legends of the Admiralty Islanders of the Bismarck Archipelago was one of the earliest collections describing the mythology of a Melanesian tribe.
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Josef Meier's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Josef Meier?
German missionary and ethnologist
When was Josef Meier born?
Josef Meier was born on 7 November 1874 in Hirschau.
When did Josef Meier die?
Josef Meier died on 28 November 1945 in Allentown.
What was Josef Meier's occupation?
Josef Meier was a linguist, translator, catholic priest, ethnologist, catholic and missionary.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Josef Meier. https://biography.guide/josef-meier/
MLA: "Josef Meier." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/josef-meier/.
Chicago: "Josef Meier." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/josef-meier/.
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