Herrmann Julius Meyer was a German publisher born in Gotha

Gotha (town)

Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...

. He was the son of publisher Joseph Meyer (1796-1856).

After his father's death in 1856, Herrmann Meyer took charge of Bibliographisches Institut

Bibliographisches Institut

The German publishing company "Bibliographisches Institut" was founded 1826 in Gotha by Joseph Meyer, moved 1828 to Hildburghausen and 1874 to Leipzig. Its production over the years includes such well-known titles as "Meyers Lexikon" , "Brehms Tierleben" The German publishing company...

, a publishing firm in Hildburghausen

Hildburghausen

Hildburghausen is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. It is situated on the river Werra, 20 km south of Suhl, and 25 km northwest of Coburg....

. In 1874 he moved the headquarters to Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

, and in 1884 handed over the business to his sons, Arndt (1859-1920) and Hans

Hans Meyer (geologist)

Hans Heinrich Josef Meyer was a German geographer from Hildburghausen, who was the son of publisher Herrmann Julius Meyer . Hans Meyer is credited with being the first European to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro 5,895 m...

 (1858-1929), the latter renowned for his ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

In 1888 he established Stiftung zur Erbauung billiger Wohnungen, an association for the construction of inexpensive housing for working-class people in Leipzig. In 1900 the project had achieved foundation

Private foundation

A private foundation is a legal entity set up by an individual, a family or a group of individuals, for a purpose such as philanthropy. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private foundation in the U.S. with over $38 billion in assets...

status, and by 1914 there were four "residential colonies" with a total of around 2700 homes in the districts of Lindenau, Eutritzsch, Reudnitz and Kleinzschoche.