Hubert Jannach was a professor in the Department of Modern Languages at Purdue University. He researched and wrote on the identity and language of B. Traven during the years 1955-1986 and corresponded with many B. Traven scholars, including Rolf Recknagel and Michael L. Baumann.

B. Traven was the pseudonym for an internationally famous writer who guarded his identity with jealousy and determination throughout his life, creating one of the greatest literary puzzles of the 20th century. Other names he went by in his lifetime are Traven Torsvan, Hal Croves, and Ret Marut. His twelve novels, the best known of which are The Death Ship and the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and many short stories have been translated into numerous languages. Films have been made of his the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, White Rose, Macario, The Death Ship, and Rebellion of the Hanged. He died in March 1969 in Mexico City, Mexico.