The Life of Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Quotes
“Discoveries in the natural sciences that enable mankind to dispose of increasingly powerful and varied forms of energy . . . these are the most striking discoveries of all time.”
“When I look back upon my early days I an stirred by the thought of the number of people whom I have to thank for what they gave me of for what they were to me. At the same time I am haunted by an oppressive consciousness of the little gratitude I really showed them while I was young. How many of them have said farewell to life without my having made clear to them what it meant to me to receive from them so much kindness or so much care! Many time I, with a feeling of shame, said quietly to myself over a grave of words which my mouth ought to have spoken to the departed, while he was still in the flesh.”
“Like all human beings, I am a person who is full of contradictions”
Childhood
Albert Schweitzer was a French-German man who lived during the the 19th and 20th centuries. He was born on January 14, 1875 in Alsace, a territory in Germany and France. His parents names are Adele and a Louis. Starting at kindergarten, he was educated at a local school. At fourth grade, he was transferred to a school in Upper Alsace, but he only stayed at that school for a year.
Teenager/Young Adult years
By the time Albert was ten years old, he was educated at a school called Gymnasium, a school that was also in upper Alsace, where he stayed until October 1893. On October 1893 Albert traveled to Paris to study music and he met C.M. Widor, a famous organist. After a month, he traveled to a University in Strasbourg. At the university, he studied music, theology and philosophy. He also studied music theory. The next year he entered the military and stayed in the army until the following April.
Before The Mission
Now twenty years old, Albert made a pledge to himself that when he turned thirty he would dedicate his life to serving humanity and doing good deeds. But he was only 21 years old at the time. He spent the next decade pursuing music. For three years, Albert studied at Sorbonne and a university at Berlin. He also once again studied about organ in Paris and Berlin. He also started to play the organ at concerts. He wrote his thesis for his degree in theology in addition to his musical pursuits.
“The Idea of the Last Supper in Daniel Schleirmacher, Compared with the ideas of Luther, Zwingli and Calvin.”
In May of 1898, Albert passed his oral exams before the faculty of theology. He received the Goll Scholarship to go with is theology abilities. On the following summer, he kept on studying, he studied philosophy at the Strasbourg University. He kept studying through Spring 1899, then went back to France in the Fall.
Albert was mentored by Widor with his musical pursuits while he studied the texts of Kant, a philosopher from Germany. He studied him to trace the evolution of his thought. In March, he went to Günsbach, to work on his manuscript about Kant. After he finished, he returned to Berlin to study more about the organ. By July, he was in Strasbourg and completed his exam on Philosophy and earned a PhD.
By the end of 1988, Albert was hired by the S.T Nicholas Church. He also published the book “The Religious Philosophy of Kant”. He Graduated with a doctorate in theology in the year 1900. The following September, he ordained as minister of the St. Nicholas Church. Two years later on 1902, Albert was appointed P.D at the University at Strasbourg. He gave lectures before his faculty. On October 1st 1903, Albert premaritally became principal of the Seminary.
Early Mission Career
It is now January 14 1905, it was Albert Schweitzer’s 30th birthday, like he promised, he was going to serve humanity and was now going to do research about medicine and travel to Africa to help the poor. A year later, he began his medical studies and went back to college at Strasbourg. A couple years later, he completed his studies and received a MD degree.
One month later, Albert and his wife Hélène left for their first mission trip to Africa. Their destination was Lambarene, in France’s part of Africa. It was a place they would remain for years.
It was a small town very little people knew about at the time. It was the center of the missionary hospital Albert was going to work. The hospital’s name was Andende. At the mission, children were taught about hospital work and adults found, cared for and rescued sick and injured Africans.
They first took a tour of the hospital which at the time was being constructed. They also explored the forests that surrounded the mission. Albert and the other men and woman at the mission couldn’t help any of the sick people yet. Even worse, Albert soon noticed that the Africans were using charms and “good” spirits to drive away sicknesses. That caused some people to die from illnesses that could be easily cured at the hospital. In August, Albert preformed his first surgery on a man with strangulated hernia. Ever since, he did many more surgeries and treatments on different kinds of illnesses.
Prison years and after the war
For a while, it looked like Albert was unstoppable, but then World War 1 broke out. Authorities considered him an enemy and he was sentenced to house arrest, where they had to stay in their house for many years as if it was a jail.
It wasn’t until the summer 1918 when Albert was released out of prison, he was in poor health, his mother has died as well. He returned to his home in Alsace, which was destroyed by war. The pretty town he left was now destroyed. But there was hope that Strasbourg would become itself again. Early in the year after he returned to Strasbourg, Albert’s wife gave birth to his only child. The baby’s name was Rhena, she will live 90 years just like her father. Rhena was also born on the same day as father. Before he went to Africa the second time, Albert worked as a paster and a local doctor. He also worked at many other jobs and published some books during his stay at Strasbourg.
Additional Visits to Africa
After many years at his home town, Albert returned to Africa to serve at the missionary once again. He helped with the hospital for three years before returning to Strasbourg. For many years he kept on having short trips to the mission hospital and back to Europe. While he was at Africa, he cared for sick and injured patients, helped people who were going to give birth and construct and renovated the hospital when it needed to be bigger. In Europe, he played concerts to raise money for his family and the hospital. He also hung out with his wife and daughter and made Bach recordings with his organ.
One time on 1939, Albert returned to Europe, only briefly. After 12 days, he returned to the hospital in Africa sooner then expected. World War 2 was approaching and he did not want to be close to the German Empire. A bit later Mrs. Schweitzer and Rhena joined him in Africa when the war escalated.
After many years in Africa caring for patients, Albert returned to Europe. On Summer 1949, Schweitzer made his only trip to the US. It was a good thing Albert was able to speak English, because he stayed in the US for a month before returning home. Then in October, the worldly man went back to the hospital in Africa. He stayed there for two years before he went back to Europe. On November 1953, he was awarded with a nobel peace prize. It was another year before he accepted the prize and wrote a address to Oslo in Norway.
Final Years
A couple years after Albert got his noble peace prize in 1953, his wife died in Switzerland. The next time he returned to Africa, he bought his wife’s ashes and buried them on the hospital grounds. Albert passed just a short couple years later.
The short years before his passing, he worked for an Anti-Nuclear treaty. His hospital also expanded greatly between 1958 through 1963. On May 6, he helped the US bill that reduced animal cruelty be enacted. A couple months later, he wrote to the president about the law. On 1965, the year of his death, He and Rhena celebrate their birthdays. A couple months later, Albert died in Africa in the middle of the night and Rhena took charge of the hospital.
THE END (of Schweitzer’s life)
