Auersperg, ANTON ALEXANDER, GRAF VON

Auersperg, ANTON ALEXANDER, GRAF VON, German poet, was born at Laibach, April 11, 1806. Descended from an ancient Swabian family which, in the 11th century, had settled and acquired large estates in Carniola, he took a prominent position in the diet of that province (1861–67). In 1861 he was chosen a life-member of the upper house of the Austrian Reichsrath; and he died at Gratz, 12th September 1876. He was always distinguished by his Liberalism and his ultra-German sympathies; but he is best known under the nom de plume of Anastasius Grün, as one of the German epic and lyrical poets, among whom he holds a high rank, excelling most in humorous subjects and political satires. His collected works fill 7 vols. (1877). See the Life of him by Radicz (2 vols. 1876–78).