Georg Ernst Hinzpeter (9 October 1827, Gelsenkirchen - 28 December 1907, Bielefeld) was a German pedagogue.
His father was a gymnasium teacher. After completing his primary education, he studied in Halle and Berlin, majoring in philosophy and classical philology. He graduated with a Doctoral degree in both subjects. His first position was as a tutor for the Wittgenstein family; then for the family of Count Karl von Schlitz. After that, he spent a few years teaching at the . In 1866, he was appointed tutor to Prince (later Kaiser) Wilhelm and his brothers. In 1875, he married Octavie Darcourt, the Prince's French teacher.[1]
He held his position until the Prince came of age. This was the first time an heir to the throne had not been tutored by the traditional military educator; an innovation that was strictly enforced by the Prince's mother, Crown Princess Victoria. She also saw Hinzpeter's strict methods as a way of compensating for Wilhelm's physical handicap which, to her, was a major deficit. His drastic approach, by modern standards, was based on Calvinism, mortification of the flesh, and the denial of pleasure. It may have been a significant factor in creating the future Kaiser's unpleasant personality.
After Wilhelm came to power in 1888, Hinzpeter was appointed as a personal advisor and secret government councilor.[2] In 1891, he was a candidate to succeed Gustav von Goßler as Minister of Culture. From 1904, he was a member of the Prussian House of Lords. The Kaiser was in attendance at his funeral.