Johann Reuchlin, the celebrated German humanist and cabbalist, was born in Pforzheim in 1455, and died at Stuttgart in 1522. While he 'promoted the study of Greek and introduced neo-Latin comedy into Germany, it was his pioneering work in the study of Hebrew language and ot the Cabbala that earned him his historical significance. He used his extensive travels to establish contact with other humanists and learned Jews and to acquire manuscripts and printed works for his library, which was one of the largest private book collections of his time ... when Johann Pfefferkorn began his campaign for the suppression of all Hebrew books, the Emperor Maximilian I sought the advice of several experts. Of these Reuchlin was the only one to oppose Pfefferkorn in his assessment' (Bietenholz).