Friedrich Maximilian Hessemer, architect and poet, was born in Darmstadt, Germany in 1800. At age 17 he enrolled in the University of Giessen but returned to Darmstadt two years later to study architecture under the supervision of his uncle, Georg Moller, an architect and director of public works. He began his career in architecture in 1822 in the State of Hessen and transferred in 1824 to the province of Oberhessen. While on official missions in Oberhessen, Hessemer used his artistic abilities to sketch buildings, which was later useful during his study travels. In the spring of 1827 Hessemer returned to Darmstadt and took a two year study leave to Italy. Hessemer left Darmstadt on September 3, 1827 and returned September 27, 1830 after walking through Switzerland, Italy ( including Sicily), Malta, and Egypt. In Rome in 1828, Hessemer met the English architect, Henry Gally Knight (1786-1846) who offered him a commission to prepare sketches in Egypt which he [Knight] needed for a work on the origins of the Gothic arch.

He also made over 450 pencil sketches and drawings of what he saw - a photo album of sorts for the 19th-century adventurer. "If I had not drawn it, it is if I had not seen it," he wrote in a letter to his father, Sept. 4, 1828. A collection of Hessemer's drawings was published (1990) in English: Historic designs and patterns in color from Arab and Italian sources. Letters to his father are included in the published volume, Lettere dalla Sicilia (Palermo: Sellerio, 1992) to be added to Rare Books, Special Collections.

Hessemer returned to Germany to accept a position at the Staedel Art Institute in Frankfurt, and settled into the intellectual life of the city. He presented lectures on architecture and art, worked on problems related to optics and mathematics, and wrote poetry.

Friedrich Maximilian Hessemer died December 1, 1860 in Frankfurt, Germany.