Johann Friedrich Cotta

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Johann Friedrich Freiherr von Cotta (* April 27, 1764 in Stuttgart - † December 29, 1832 in Stuttgart) was a German publisher, industrial pioneer and politician. In 1798 he founded the Allgemeine Zeitung, a popular daily political journal in the first part of the 19th century.

Cotta was considered the leading publisher of the German Enlightenment, and included Goethe and Schiller among his personal friends.

Cotta also held a number of public offices, including diplomatic ones. In appreciation for his work, the German king he served made him a baron, reviving his family’s nobility from its Italian roots.

Cotta’s publishing company survives today, although no longer owned by the family, under the name Klett-Cotta, and can be found online at www.klett-cotta.de. Its contemporary offerings include German-to-Elvish dictionaries tied in to the Lord of the Rings movies.