Karl Arnold Kortum

Born on July 5, 1745, in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Carl Arnold Kortum was a German physician, poet, and satirist. He studied medicine and went on to work as a doctor, but he became especially remembered for his writing, which mixed learning with wit and comic energy.

His best-known work is Die Jobsiade, a humorous mock-heroic poem that helped secure his place in German literary history. Kortum's writing is often noted for its playful tone and for bringing everyday life and absurdity into a form usually reserved for grand subjects.

He died on August 15, 1824, in Bochum. Even though he was trained in science and practiced medicine, his reputation has lasted mainly through his literary work, which gives him an unusual place among German authors of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.