Joseph von Görres, German writer, philosopher and journalist, 1776-1848

As a young man, Josef von Görres was an enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution and called for the establishment of a Cisrhenan Republic. After a visit to Paris in 1799 and Napoleon's seize of power, he saw the ideals of the revolution betrayed. In 1814 he founded the influential "Rheinische Merkur" wherein he advocated the unification of Germany as a liberal democracy. After the paper's ban in 1816 and political persecution, Görres fled to Strasbourg in 1819. It was there that his transition to a religious author took place. In 1827 he became a professor in Munich and moved to the forefront of political Catholicism.