Raspe, Rudolf Erich (1737–1794)

German scientist, antiquarian, and writer. He was versatile and widely read. He published works on volcanic geology and on Gottfried Leibniz as a mathematician, and wrote an introduction to Thomas Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry and a study of Ossian that became one of the pioneer works of the Gothic revival in Germany. His Baron Munchhausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia appeared in England in 1785. Raspe was born in Hanover, Germany, and was educated at Gottingen University.