August von Kotzebue
August von Kotzebue | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 May 1761 |
| Died | 23 March 1819 (aged 57) |
| Resting place | Mannheim |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | German |
| Citizenship | Saxe-Weimar Russian Empire |
| Alma mater | University of Duisburg |
| Signature | |
August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (German: [ˈaʊɡʊst fɔn ˈkɔtsəbuː], Russian: Евстафий Леонтьевич Коцебу, romanized: Yevstafiy Leontyevich Kotsebu; 3 May [O.S. 22 April] 1761 – 23 March [O.S. 11 March] 1819) was a German playwright, who had also worked as a Russian diplomat.
In 1817, one of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl Ludwig Sand, a militant member of the Burschenschaften. This murder gave Metternich the pretext to issue the Carlsbad Decrees of 1819, which dissolved the Burschenschaften, cracked down on the liberal press, and seriously restricted academic freedom in the states of the German Confederation.