After studying at the universities of
Berne,
Zurich,
Florence and Paris (
The Sorbonne), in 1918 he presented his doctoral thesis ("Names for sheep in
Romance languages"). In 1921 he became
Privatdozent at Berne. Following an appointment at the
University of Lausanne, he taught at the
University of Leipzig from 1929 to 1939. From 1940 to 1959, he was Professor of French Philology at the
University of Basle. His chief work is without a doubt the "Etymological French Dictionary" (whose original
German title is
Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch). Von Wartburg had
honorary doctorates from the
University of Lausanne and the
University of Leeds. In 1963 he received the
German Order of Merit for Science and the Arts. Today, a
literary award, the
Prix Wartburg de Littérature, is awarded each 25 April in recognition of a : "Defender of the
French language, remarkable for the elegance of his writing and/or for his non-conformity. It is not necessarily given for a work published in the previous year: it can also mark the completion of a work or a much older book". == References ==