Wilhelm Paul Corssen

After spending some time at the Joachimsthal-Gymnasium in Berlin, where his interest in philological pursuits was awakened by the rector, Meinike, he proceeded to the university, and there came especially under the influence of Philipp August Böckh and Karl Lachmann.

[1] His first important appearance in literature was as the author of Origines poesis romanae, by which he had obtained the prize offered by the philosophical or arts faculty of the university.

[1] In the discussion of the pronunciation of Latin he was naturally led to consider the various old Italian dialects, and the results of his investigations appeared in miscellaneous communications to Franz Felix Adalbert Kuhn's Zeitschrift für vergleichende Schriftforschung.

[1] From a very early period he had been attracted to the special study of Etruscan remains, and had at various times given occasional expression to his opinions on individual points; but it was not till 1870 that he had the opportunity of visiting Italy and completing his equipment for a formal treatment of the whole subject by personal inspection of the monuments.

In 1874 appeared the first volume of Über die Sprache der Etrusker, in which with great ingenuity and erudition he endeavoured to prove that the Etruscan language was cognate with that of the Romans.