Francke, August

fran'ke, August (1663-1727), a noted German educator. He was born at Lubeck and was educated chiefly at Leipsic. After holding various educational positions, he became a professor in the University of Halle. He belongs to the same group of men as Pestalozzi. He became deeply interested in the deplorably ignorant and neglected condition of the children of the poor. He established an orphan asylum, a school for the poor, and a training school for teachers at Halle. During his lifetime he had the privilege of seeing his institutions attended by over 2,000 pupils of various sorts. His institutions are still maintained by the city of Halle. The schools now form an integral part of the public educational system. Students of European schools consider a visit to the Francke institutions indispensable. Francke is one of the best known names in the history of German education. See Halle