Peter Imandt Society members explore his Dundee past
A member of a German society established in honour of Peter Imandt -- a political emigre and close friend of Karl Marx who settled in Dundee 160 years ago -- was in the city this week to explore his past.
Bill McLoughlin of DC Thomson with Hamish Drummond, Max Hewer and Mike Arnott studying bound copies of The Courier from 1894.
- By Jennifer Cosgrove
- Published in the Courier : 17.07.10
- Published online : 17.07.10 @ 01.05pm
Max Hewer of Saarbruken is a member of the Peter Imandt Society, set up in 1999 to raise awareness of Mr Imandt.
Born in 1823, Mr Imandt was a founding member of Germany's Social Democratic Party and, after joining uprisings in the 1840s, was forced into exile in Switzerland, then London, settling in Dundee a decade later.
He married local woman Anne McKenzie in 1859 and the couple went on to have three children. He worked as a languages teacher at Dundee High School for almost 40 years.
His daughter Franziska Marie worked as a reporter for The Courier and was sent by the newspaper on a trip around the world with another female reporter in 1894. An article about their journey was printed in The Courier in March.
Mr Imandt died at his home, said to have been in Hill Terrace, Broughty Ferry, in 1897, aged 74. Franziska Marie is buried in the same plot.
While the article was being researched, it emerged Mr Imandt's two-metre-high memorial in Barnhill Cemetery was to be laid flat because of its dangerous condition.
Mr Hewer's trip was instigated by the Peter Imandt Society after Mike Arnott, secretary of the Dundee Trades Council, got in touch to inform them Mr Imandt's gravestone in Barnhill Cemetery was in disrepair.
A Facebook group was set up to gain support for the repair of the grave, as there was no recorded family member responsible for it. This led to it being stabilised in April.
Accompanied by Mr Arnott and Hamish Drummond, chairman of Dundee Trades Council, Mr Hewer visited sights in the city related to Mr Imandt's past, including the DC Thomson offices in Meadowside.
The men were met by Bill McLoughlin of the syndication department and were able to read through the bound editions dating back to 1894 to see Franziska Marie Imandt's articles.
Mr Hewer visited the McManus Galleries, where Franziska Marie is the subject of an exhibition.
He also went to Barnhill Cemetery to see the Imandts' grave, and to 28 South Tay Street, where Mr Imandt married his wife.
They have been left puzzled as to where Mr Imandt lived, as there is no Hill Terrace in existence in Broughty Ferry.
The society is still searching for clues about Mr Imandt's past -- for example what happened to his two sons and why he came to settle in Dundee.
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