Peter Engelmann

Peter Engelmann (January 24, 1823 – May 17, 1874) was a German American immigrant, educationist, writer, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the founder of the collection which became the Milwaukee Public Museum, and was also founder of the influential "German-English Academy" of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which lives on as part of the University School of Milwaukee.

Early life and flight from Germany Peter Engelmann was born on January 24, 1823, in Argenthal, in the Rhine Province of the Kingdom of Prussia. He studied at the University of Heidelberg and at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He received his teaching license in 1846, and began teaching at the Kreuznach Gymnasium that year.

At Bad Kreuznach, he became affiliated with the republican movement and founded the Kreuznacher Gymnastics and Civic Association, which led to his dismissal from teaching. Engelmann served as director of the academy for the rest of his life. The school was so closely associated with him, it was often referred to alternatively as the "Engelmann School".

The school continued after his death. It later came to be known as the "Milwaukee University School" and, in 1964, it merged with other Milwaukee private schools to form the University School of Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Public Museum In 1857, Engelmann was also one of the founders of the Wisconsin Natural History Society ("Naturhistorichen Verein von Wisconsin").

Personal life and legacy Engelmann married Jane Young in Michigan shortly after his arrival in America in 1849, but she died in 1856. They had no children.