Biographical Note

Fritz Marti was born January 1, 1894 in Winterthur, Switzerland. After serving in the Swiss Army during World War I, Marti earned two degrees in Mechanical Engineering (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, 1917, 1918) before completing his Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Bern (1922) under the tutelage of Fritz Medicus.

Marti's teaching experience began at the University of Oregon in 1923, and took him to 11 institutions of higher learning before his retirement from Southern Illinois University in 1974. In the meantime, Marti and his wife also founded the Marti School, a college preparatory academy in Ohio, now known as the Miami Valley School.

Marti published four books on philosophy, the most notable of which is On Being Human: The Life of Truth and Its Realization, a translation of work by his mentor Fritz Medicus. His scholarship focused primarily upon post-Kantian idealism, but Marti was also widely respected in Hegelian circles and indeed "well versed in all sorts of speculative philosophy, especially Catholic philosophy and Continental rationalism." Marti was also considered an expert on the work of Friedrich Schelling.

Fritz Marti died in 1991 at the age of 98.

Timeline for Fritz Marti

1894	Born on New Year's Day in Winterthur, (Canton of Zürich) Switzerland.
1900	Begins public elementary school in Winterthur.
1906	Begins secondary education at the Municipal Gymnasium Bern, scientific branch (Realschule).
1913	In September, receives, with maximal honors, Certificate of Maturity for university study from the Realschule.
1914	Begins his term of compulsory service in the Swiss Army. During his term of service, which ends in 1923, Marti attains the rank of First Lieutenant in the Motor Transportation Corps, acting as a technical instructor and company commander in charge of emergency tasks.
1917	Receives the first of two pre-diplomas from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - Zürich. Majors in Mechanical Engineering and minors in Mathematics. (Marti is later inducted as an Honorary Member of the Academic Society of Mechanical Engineers)
1918	Begins a course of study in Philosophy at the University of Zürich, which he will continue until 1920.
1920	Initiates his candidacy for a Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Bern.
1922	In June, receives a Ph.D. from the University of Bern, majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Mathematics and Psychology. During his time at the University of Bern, Marti studies under Professor Fritz Medicus. Manages, for one year, the Bern to Gurten Electric Cable Railway.
1923	Hired as an Instructor by the University of Oregon.
1925	Relocates to Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, where he is eventually promoted to Assistant Professor.
1926	Begins a year-long residence as Lecturer pro tempore at Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania.
1927	Returns to Goucher College, where he will remain until 1932.
1930	Becomes a Naturalized U.S. citizen.
1932	Relocates to Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia, where he teaches education courses and establishes the Fine Arts Department.
1935	Relocates to the University of Maryland, where he is promoted to the rank of Professor and serves as Chair of the Department of Philosophy. For several summers he teaches Philosophy of Education courses for teachers. He remains affiliated with the University of Maryland until 1946.
1936	Concurrent with his appointment at the University of Maryland, Marti also serves as Lecturer in Philosophy and Art History to the Graduate School of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He fulfills this role until 1941.
1937	Marries, on June 5, Gertrude Austin, a pianist from Seattle, Washington. Over time the Marti family will come to include six children - Judith, Ursula, Felix, Moira, Vreneli and Rebecca.
1941	Serves a one-year term as President of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology.
1943	Begins a year-long residence as Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago.
1944	Serves a one-year term as President of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Religion.
1946	Relocates to Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio, where he serves as Chair of the Department of Philosophy. He remains affiliated with Marietta College until 1953.
1947	With his wife, Gertrude, founds The Berglihof School - which is eventually renamed The Marti School - a college preparatory academy that stresses languages and history. Initially located in Salem, Ohio, the school later moves to Dayton.
1961	Begins a year-long residence as Visiting Professor at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he lectures on Greek philosophy.
1963	Retires from The Marti School. Begins a two-year residence as Visiting Professor at Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio, where he delivers courses on aesthetics, Kant, Hegel, Marx and the history of philosophy.
1965	Gertrude Marti retires from The Marti School, which is renamed The Miami Valley School. Relocates to Southern Illinois University where he serves under the title of Lecturer until 1974. This is Marti's final academic appointment.
1973	Publishes a translation of Fritz Medicus' On Being Human: The Life of Truth and Its Realization (St. Louis: Warren H. Green).
1974	Publishes a translation of Fritz Medicus' Religion, Reason, and Man (St. Louis: Warren H. Green).
1979	Authors Religion and Philosophy (Washington, D. C.: University Press of America).
1980	Publishes an annotated translation of four essays by Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling titled The Unconditional in Human Knowledge: Four Early Essays by F. W. J. Schelling (Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Bucknell University Press).
1981	Publishes Unpopular Truths (Washington, D.C.: University Press of America).
1991	Dies at the age of 98.

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