F. S.
Bock
1720 (Jun 22): Magister (Jena).
1721 (May 23): AR, Lecturer in Mathematics.
Christian Friedrich Ammon was born (10 Mar 1696) and died (1 Dec 1742) in Königsberg, where he was one of Kant's mathematics professors. Ammon began his own university studies at Königsberg, primarily under the mathematicians Christoph Langhansen [bio] and David Blaesing [bio] – the former a very young Pietist lecturer, the latter an Aristotelian. Ammon received his Magister degree at Jena (22 June 1720), returned to Königsberg the following year (7 June 1721), habilitated at the university on September 24 (with the dissertation De duobus theorematibus philosophicis una cum corollariis) and began lecturing on mathematics and philosophy the following year. He began his teaching career as an Aristotelian, but was using Christian Wolff’s textbooks by the late 1720s when Martin Knutzen [bio] was a student. Pisanski characterizes Ammon’s own textbook (1737) as a mix of Aristotle and Wolff. Ludovici claims that Ammon was widely known as a Pietist and relates a story of how he anonymously dictated a series of Wolffian additions to a student’s response to a disputation presented by the medical professor M. E. Boretius [bio] on 18 May 1724, which led to the published disputation being banned. Immanuel Kant attended Ammon’s lectures in the early 1740s and understood them well enough to tutor his friends as well. Kant’s former student and later colleague, C. J. Kraus, also mentions Ammon as one of Kant’s professors, but notes that he “must have been a real amateur, judging from a mathematical writing of his that I’ve seen” [Reicke 1860, 7]. [Sources: Ludovici 1735-38, i.227, iii.474-76; Arnoldt 1756, 113-14; Buck 1764, 158-60; Pisanski 1886, 529; Wotschke 1928, 77] [8/06]
Select Publications:
Lineae primae matheseos in usum auditorii privati ductae (Königsberg, 1736).
Lineae primae eruditionis humanae in usum auditorii ductae (Königsberg, 1737).
“Wie die Freyheit zu philosophiren Ordnung und Unordnung in den Wissenschafften zuwege bringen könne” in Wöchentliche Königsbergische Frag- und Anzeigungs-Nachrichten (20 August 1740).
????: Magister (Rostock).
1716: Professor at Gymnasium (Thorn).
1720 (Aug 7): AR.
1721-1728: Assoc. Prof. of Rhetoric and History (Königsberg).*
1728: Rector of a provincial school in Tilsit.
Also: Arndt. Born (Jul 6) in Danzig, died (Oct 26) in Tilsit. Attended the gymnasium in Danzig and received his magister degree at Rostock; taught at his old gymnasium in Danzig, then in Thorn. Problems with Jesuits led him to retreat to Königsberg, where he taught rhetoric and history for seven years. Financial difficulties forced him to leave the university and accept a rectorship at Tilsit. He was best known for his meteorological studies. [Sources: APB; Arnoldt 1746, ii.420-21; Buck 1764, 150-55; Pisanski 1886,480] [last update: 6 Feb 2009]
1721 (Oct 2): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1728 (Oct 25): Magister (Halle).
1729: AR (Jun 11), Assoc. Prof. of Practical Philosophy (until 1735) (Königsberg).*
1732: Consistory advisor.
1733 (Nov 12): Dr. of Theology (Königsberg).
1733: Assoc. Prof. of Theology; adjunct to F. A. Schultz at the Altstadt Church.
1733 (Aug 10): Marries Julianne Rogall (1717-36), the daughter of the Pietist Georg Friedrich Rogall.
1735: 7th Full Prof. of Theology[1]; Adjunct to the 2nd court chaplain at the Castle Church.
1736: 2nd court chaplain at the Castle Church.
1737 (Jul 13): Marries (2nd) Louise Lazarovius (1716-38), daughter of a Kammerverwalter.
1739 (Jan 3): Marries (3rd) Marie Charlotte Vogel, daughter of Prof. of Theology David Vogel.
1745: 6th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1759: 4th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1763-75: Director of Collegium Fridericianum (replaced F. A. Schultz).
1765: 2nd Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1770: 2nd court chaplain (under Quandt).
1772: 1st Full Prof. of Theology; 1st court chaplain; president of the Königsberg German Society (until his death).
Also: Arnold. Daniel Heinrich Arnoldt was born (7 Dec 1706) and died (30 Jul 1775) in Königsberg. He was the son of a merchant and became a Pietist [glossary] theologian in the Wolffian mold of F. A. Schultz and an invaluable local historian. An early interest and ability in poetry led to his first publication (1732), a study on the proper rules for writing poetry, laid out in Wolff's mathematical style. Arnoldt continued this interest throughout his life and was president of the Royal German Society of Königsberg when he died. He also mentored the future novelist J. T. Hermes during the latter's studies at Königsberg (1758-61). A longer biography of Arnoldt is also available. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746; Arnoldt 1769; Arnoldt 1777, 10, 13, 35; Meusel 1802; Pisanski 1886; APB; ADB; Erler (1911/12); Selle 1956; Zippel 1898; Gause 1996; NDB; DLL] [last update: 21 May 2007]
Select Publications:
De statu hominis naturali, prima humanam dei cognitionem explicans (Königsberg: Reussner, 1729).
Versuch einer systematischen Anleitung zur Poesie überhaupt (Königsberg, 1732). 2nd ed, with changed title, is below at 1741.
Ausführliche und mit Urkunden versehene Historie der königsbergischen Universität, 2 vols. (Königsberg: J. H. Hartung, 1746), vol. 1: 366 pp., 504 pp.; vol. 2: 592 pp, 104 pp. [with two volumes of additions: 1756, 1769]
Zusätze zu seiner Historie der königsbergischen Universität (Königsberg: Hartung, 1756), 240 pp.
Fortgesetzte Zusätze zu seiner Historie der königsbergischen Universität (Königsberg: Zeise and Hartung, 1769), 202 pp.
Kirchengeschichte des Königsreich Preußen (Königsberg, 1769).
Kurzgefaßte Nachrichten von allen seit der Reformation an den lutherischen Kirchen in Ostpreußen gestandenen Predigern, edited by Friedrich Wilhelm Benefeldt (Königsberg: Hartung, 1777).
[1] Arnoldt [1777, 35] claims he became a full professor of theology in the same year he was awarded the doctorate, i.e., 1733; also that he became an assoc. professor of practical philosophy in 1730.
1692 (Mar 16): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1703: PR, Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).
1710-13: Pastor (Cauen).
Pastor in Cauen. Goldbeck [1782, 176] mentions a Magister Joh. Babatius as teaching at the Kneiphof school. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 73]
1713 (Apr 8): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1714 or 1719: Magister (Jena).
1726 (May 21): AR.
1727: Lecturer in Philosophy.
1729: Pastor in Thierenberg (Prussia).
Also: Backhusius. Born in Preuschemler; died (Jan 1) in Thierenberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 73; Arnoldt 1777, 18]
1712 (Mar 17): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1720 (Feb 10): Magister (Leipzig).
1721 (Sep 4): AR, Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1731: Field chaplain near Tilsit.
1737: Inspector (Wesserlingen).
Christoph Friedrich Baumgarten (also: Baumgart, Baumgarth) was born in Königsberg in the early 1690s and died on 28 August 1746 in Wesserlingen. He was a minor Wolffian philosopher and older cousin to the Königsberg theologian D. H. Arnoldt [bio]. Baumgarten matriculated at the university in Königsberg (1712), received his Magister from Leipzig (1720), then returned to Königsberg in 1721 and habilitated with an address on miracles and began lecturing that winter semester. Pisanski claims he was one of the first to study and lecture on Christian Wolff’s philosophy, which he did for the next ten years. He left Königsberg in 1731 to work as a field chaplain near Tilsit and in 1737 became a church inspector at Wesselringen (in Halberstadt). [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 115-16; Ludovici 1735-38, i.342, 361; Pisanksi 1886, 525, 536, 564, 705; Wotschke 1928, 20, 170]
Select Publications:
De miraculis (Königsberg: Reussner, 1721).
De cura principis circa vestes (date?).
1719: Prof. of Mathematics. [??]
1721: Court chaplain.
1722: Chaplain (Berlin).
1725: Erzpriester (Fischhausen).
1733-48: Deacon at the Altstadt Church.
Born (Mar 15) in Berlin; died (Dec 19) in Königsberg. He left behind a great number of books. [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 41; Pisanski 1886, 505; Wotschke 1928, 30] [last update: 21 May 2007]
1717 (Feb 11): Magister (Leipzig).
1717 (Oct 25): AR (Königsberg).
1718-26: 1st Librarian, City Library (replaced Quandt).
1720: Conrector, then prorector (1721-26), of the Cathedral School (Königsberg).
1726: Prof. of Classical Antiquity (Univ. at St. Petersburg) and member of the new Russian Academy of Sciences.
1730 (Feb 1): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
Born (Jan 6) in Königsberg, died (Feb 10; 2/21 on the Gregorian calendar) in St. Petersburg; the son of a painter. Attended the Collegium Fridericianum, then the Albertina, studying also in Berlin, Frankfurt/Oder, and finally Leipzig. While in Königsberg, he also worked as a private tutor. Bayer was one of the most important orientalists of the 18th century, although he does not appear to have taught at the Albertina. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, i.443-4; Goldbeck 1782, 176; Pisanski 1886, 475-6; APB; ADB]
1710 (Mar 27): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1717: Magister (Königsberg).
1718: Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1723, 1731: Deacon, then pastor in Labiau.
Also: Beckher. Born (Jun 2) in Königsberg, died (Oct 2) in Labiau; the son of a government official. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 75; Pisanski 1886, 524, 588, 683; APB]
1702 (Nov 1): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1710 (Aug 12): Magister (Jena).
1712 (Jan 7): AR, Lecturer in Philosophy.
1717: Assoc. Prof. of Greek (Königsberg).
1717 (Nov 2): Dr. of Theology (Königsberg), Assoc. Prof. of Theology.
1721: Full Prof. of Greek (Königsberg).
1728-51: 1st Librarian, Royal Library (replaced M. S. Grabe).
1733: Consistory Advisor (Samland).
1745: 7th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1750: 6th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
Born (Apr 7) in Holland (Prussia), the grandson of Michael Behm (1612-1650, theology professor from 1639-50), who was in turn the son of his more famous father, Johann Behm (1578-1648), who taught in the theology faculty from 1609-48. After graduating from Jena, Behm toured through Holland and England. He maintained his full professorship in Greek alongside his professorship in theology. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii. 194, 217, 372, 468; Pisanski 1886, 319, 244-5; Gause 1996, ii.242; ADB; Wotschke 1928, 36-7]
1678 (Oct 11): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1681: Moves to Leipzig.
1683 (Jan 25): Magister (Leipzig).
1684 (Sep 8): AR, Lecturer in Philosophy (mathematics, at Königsberg).
1690: Full Prof. of Mathematics (Königsberg).
1697-99: Trip to Holland, England, and France.
1701 (Mar 11): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
1703: 1st inspector of the Alumnat [glossary] (replacing Hedio).
Born (29 Dec 1660) and died (7 Oct 1719) in Königsberg; the son of a tinsmith. Attended the Altstadt school, then the Albertina. He began his studies in medicine, then moved to theology, and finally mathematics. His pro loco dissertation upon his assuming the mathematics chair concerned the 1690 transit of Mercury. He was an Aristotelian and wrote against the Cartesians (De extensione mundi adversus Cartesium). He died childless and a widower, leaving his house and garden, including a library of over 3000 volumes and a valuable coin collection, to the university, significantly increasing its library holdings. The Blaesing endowment of 1000 rthl. provided, among other things, a four-year stipend of 30 rthl. per year to a mathematics student. An image of Blaesing appears as a frontispiece to vol. 4 of the Beiträge zur Kunde Preußens (1824). [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, i.337, ii.15, 348, 378-9; Bernoulli 1779, iii.39-40; Pisanski 1886, 493; Voigt 1824; APB; Selle 1956, 127] [last update: 6 Aug 2013]
F. S.
Bock
1732 (Sep 27): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1743: Magister (Halle).
1743: Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*(PR: Nov. 20)
1751-78: 1st librarian, Royal Library (replaced Behm).
1753-85: Full Prof. of Greek (Königsberg).*
1753 (SS): 7th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).*
1759: 6th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1766-70: 4th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
Friedrich Samuel Bock was born (20 May 1716) and died (30 September 1785) in Königsberg; he was the son of the city surgeon, and younger brother to Johann Georg Bock [bio]. Bock was a prolific and many-sided scholar, with primary interests in theology, the natural sciences, and history, and was a colleague of Immanuel Kant’s. The image shown here is of a painting by Becker that, along with Kant’s and a few other portraits, was on display in Kanter’s bookshop. A longer biography of Bock is also available. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756; Arnoldt 1769; Goldbeck 1781-83; Goldbeck 1782; Pisanski 1886; Metzger 1804b; APB; ADB; Gause 1996; DLL; Kohnen 2000, 55]
Select Publications:
Specimen theologiae naturalis primum Deum gratiosissimum evincens... (Königsberg: Reusner, 1743). [pro receptione disputation]
Grundriss von dem merkwuerdigen Leben des durchlauchtigen Fuersten und Herrn, Herrn Albrecht des Aeltern, Marggrafen zu Brandenburg, in Preussen, zu Stettin ... (Königsberg: J. H. Hartung, 1745). 2nd ed: 1750.
Historia Socinianismi prussici, maximam partem ex documentis MSStis. (Königsberg: Hartung, 1754).
Historia antitrinitariorum, 2 vol. (Königsberg/Leipzig: Hartung, 1774-76).
Lehrbuch der Erziehungskunst zum Gebrauch für christliche Eltern und künftige Jugendlehrer (Königsberg and Leipzig: J. H. Hartung, 1780).
Versuch einer wirthschaftlichen Naturgeschichte von dem Königreich Ost- und Westpreussen, 5 vol. (Dessau/Halle, 1782-1785).
1714 (Sep 1): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1727: Magister (Halle).
1728 (Oct 14): AR.
1732: Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. (APB: 1752.)
1732/33 (WS): Assoc. Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics (succeeded Salthenius)(Königsberg).
1733: Full Prof. of Poetry (Königsberg).*
1737: Married the widow of the Consistory Advisor Reimann (née Sandhoff).
Johann Georg Bock was born on 12 May 1698 and died 7 July 1762 in Königsberg. He was the oldest son of the city surgeon (Georg Bock, †1729) and his wife Barbara née Ditter, and brother to Friedrich Samuel Bock [bio]; both brothers taught at the university at Königsberg alongside Kant, the older brother while Kant was still a student.
Bock matriculated at the university on 1 September 1714, worked for several years as a private tutor, and then finished his studies in 1727 at Halle where he received the magister degree. He returned to Königsberg the following year (re-matriculating on 14 October 1728), although it appears he was not holding lectures, and was perhaps instead working as a private tutor. He was appointed associate professor of logic and metaphysics (to replace Salthenius) beginning in the fall of 1732, but was then made full professor of poetry the following year, succeeding Johann Valentin Pietsch [bio], whose poems he later edited. Bock’s habilitation (pro receptione) and inaugural (pro loco) disputations both occurred in November 1733 and were published together; these concern poetic theory and develop a concept of a poem’s beauty based not on mere imitation, but rather on how lively it represents its object. Bock’s friend and correspondent in Leipzig, the Wolffian literary critic J. C. Gottsched [bio] – they had likely attended Pietsch’s poetry lectures together – was provoked by this into publishing a critical response.
Bock was a respected and successful poet of occasional and religious verse, a small selection of which was published in 1756, and he opposed the Pietism [glossary] sweeping through the university, complaining how it suppressed the arts; but he is best remembered for his dictionary of Prussian idioms and colloquialisms. Bock was inducted into the Berlin Academy of Sciences in 1732 and made an honorary professor of the St. Petersburg Academy in 1758. He features heavily in an historical novel by Olfers-Batocki [1986]. A biography of Bock by his colleague J. G. Pisanski (Königsberg, 1762) appears to be no longer extant. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.404-5, 424; Arnoldt 1769, 18; Pisanski 1886, 468, 470, 645, 651, 658, 660-61, 664, 680; APB; Gause 1996, ii.138, 141, 149, 156; DLL, i.628; Kohnen 2000, 55-72]
Select Publications:
Dissertatio academica prior de pulchritudine carminum (Königsberg: Reussner, 1733).
(editor), Des Herrn Johann Valentin Pietschen ... Gebundne Schriften in einer vermehrtern Sammlung ans Licht gestellet von Johann George Bock (Königsberg: Christoph Gottfried Eckart, 1740).
Gedichte (Königsberg: Johann Heinrich Hartung, 1756).
Idioticon prussicum; oder, Entwurf eines preußischen Wörterbuches (Königsberg: Woltersdorf, 1759).
1699 (Oct 1): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1702: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1704 (Sep 18): Magister (Königsberg).
1711-13: 2nd inspector of the alumnat (replacing Stadtlender).
1713: Full Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics (replaced Rabe)(Königsberg).
1715-19: Traveling abroad (Denmark, Germany, Holland,England, France).
Also: Böse. Born (Aug 1) in Königsberg, died in Tours, France (August). His listing as a lecturer in 1702 is likely a mistake, since he received his magister only in 1704. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, i.347, ii.385-6, 433]
1719 (Sep 25): Matriculation (Königsberg). [Aug 25: Waschkies 1987, 26]
1726 (Jul 26): Dr. of Med. (Leyden).
1730 (Aug 15): AR (Königsberg).
1741 (Sep 23): 2nd Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1766: 1st Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
Johann Christoph Bohl (also: Bohlius, Bohle) was born (16 November 1703) Daniel Arnoldt [1746, 2: 313] gives his birth-date as 19 November 1703, and this is repeated in Zedler [1754, Supplementary vol. 4, col. 94] and Emil Arnoldt [1881, 651] – but Daniel Arnoldt later corrects himself [1769, 40], noting the actual birth-date is November 16, not 19. and died (29 December 1785) in Königsberg. He was a professor of medicine at Königsberg for 44 years, having studied under Boerhaave and Ruysch at Leyden, and was a skilled anatomist. Kant dedicated his first publication, Living Forces (1747) to Bohl. A longer biography of Bohl is also available. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746 (pt. 2, p. 313); Arnoldt 1756; Arnoldt 1769; Börner 1749-53; Goldbeck 1781-83; Arnoldt 1881, 651; Pisanski 1886; Meusel 1802; Metzger 1804b, 39-40; Reicke 1860; Kuhrke 1924]
Select Publications:
Dem Hoch-Ehrwürdigen Hoch-Achtbaren und Hoch-Gelehrten Herrn Johann Jacob Quandten (Königsberg, 1721).
Lemma anatomico-physiologicum inaugurale. De morsu ... (Lugduni Batavorum: Apud Conradum Wishoff, 1726).
Medicamentis Lithontripticis anglicanis (Königsberg, 1741).
Historia naturalis viae lactere corporis humani (Königsberg, 1741).
Responsio, ad Dissertationem epistolicam (Amsterdam: Jansson-Waesberge, 1744).
De insensibilitate tendinum (Königsberg, 1764).
Von der nöthigen Vorsichtigkeit bey denen in lebendigen Geschöpfen anzustellenden Erfahrungen von der Unempfindlichkeit der Sehnen (Königsberg, 1767).
1713 (Apr 30): Magister (Königsberg).
1717 (Aug 18): AR (Königsberg).
1719: Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).
1719: 2nd inspector of the alumnat (replacing Rohde).
1721: Superintendant (Fischhausen).
1750: Pastor (Georgenau in Pr.).
Also: Bolz. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, i.348; 1756, 12; Arnoldt 1777, 4-5]
1693 (Sep 28): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1701: Hofgerichtsadvokat.
1706: Dr. of Law (Königsberg).
1707: Assoc. Prof. of Law (Königsberg).
1710: Hofhalsgerichtsassessor.
1724: Assistant City Advisor; Bourough Judge.
1730: City Advisor; inspector of the police.
1732: Full Prof. of Law (Königsberg).
1746: Superior Judge.
1750, 1753: 3rd , then 2nd Mayor of Königsberg.
Born and died in Königsberg; his father (Joh. Christoph) had been a lawyer, high government official, and professor of law, serving as rector the semester his son matriculated. The son’s career followed his father’s. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; APB]
1708 (Sep 17): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1720: Promoted in Leyden.
1722 (Dec 7): AR (Königsberg).
1723 (Jun 9): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
1724 (SS): Assoc. Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1727: 3rd Full Prof. of Medicine [Arnoldt 1746, ii.317: 1728].
1728: City physician.
1738: Hofrat & Leibarzt.
Matthias Ernst Boretius was born (18 May 1694) in Lötzen and died (4 Oct 1738)[1] in Königsberg. He was the son of a pastor. He began his studies at the university in theology, then switched to medicine. After transferring to Leyden and studying under Boerhaave, he receiving his medical degree and traveled to England, where he witnessed the first experiments (on six condemned prisoners) of the new smallpox vaccine (20 Aug. 1721). Boretius brought the vaccine back to Prussia and published an account of this (1722). Pisanski [1886, 619] quotes a comment in a Hamburg paper of 1738 (likely an obituary): “With his frequent trips to Amsterdam, he became acquainted with the world famous anatomist Ruysschio [Frederik Ruysch], who loved him like a son, and entrusted him with many arcana anatomica.” Boretius had also prepared many anatomical specimens. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, 2: 317, 334-35; Pisanski 1886, 619, 625; APB; Selle 1956, 128]
Select Publications:
Observationum exoticarum specimen primum, sistens famosam Anglorum variolas per inoculationem excitandi methodum, cum eiusdem phaenomenis et successibus (Königsberg, 1722).
[1] Gause [1996, 2: 115] mistakenly gives his birthyear as 1649.
1701 (Mar 19): Matriculation? (Königsberg).
1709-13: Präses (Jena).
1714: Rector of the Gymnasium (Durlach).
Also: Boy. Born (Dec 24) in Königsberg, died (Sep 16) in Durlach. Magister degree (from Königsberg?), professor of theology and philosophy, as well as rector at the gymnasium at Durlach. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 121-2; 1769, 59; Pisanski 705]
1730 (Oct 5): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1764: Prof. of Law (Königsberg).
Lecturer in Philosophy. Kant wrote a memorial verse for him (in a pamphlet of such verses written by most of the professors of the faculty). [Sources: Metzger 1804b, 37-38]
1737 (Jun 4): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1743 (Jul 18): PR, Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1747-82: 2nd Librarian, City Library (replacing J. B. Casseburg).
1748: Dr. of Law in absentia (Frankfurt/Oder).
1753-59: Assoc. Prof. of Mathematics (Königsberg).*
1759-69: Full Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics (replacing J. D. Kypke; Königsberg.*(PL: 4/5/1759)
1770: Full Prof. of Mathematics (Königsberg).*
1782-86: 1st Librarian, City Library (replaced T. C. Lilienthal).
Born (Nov 12) and died (Aug 4) in Königsberg. He was the son of a Prussian bureaucrat, and taught mathematics and philosophy at the university in Königsberg as a colleague and rival of his more famous townsman Immanuel Kant. Both were talented lecturers, and lecturing over the same subjects, and therefore competing for the same students. Buck appears to have been a favorite of Knutzen over Kant. This could have led to some jealousy or animosity on Kant’s part and, at least outwardly, it appeared that, in 1770 when the mathematics chair became vacant, that Kant simply maneuvered Buck out of his chair of logic and metaphysics and into the mathematics chair, so that Kant could take the logic/metaphysics chair for himself,[1] In any event, Buck’s son, Samuel Peter Friedrich Buck (1763-1827), later studied under Kant, and eventually entered his circle of friends, with Kant helping him secure a position as a city councilor in 1802. A longer biography of Buck is also available. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756; Arnoldt 1769; Goldbeck 1782; Goldbeck 1781-83; Pisanski 1886; Metzger 1804b, 43; APB; ADB; Vorländer 1924; Gause 1996, 2: 255; Oberhausen/Pozzo 1999; Stark 1999b; Kuehn 2001]
Select Publications:
Philosophische Gedanken von der Schreibart der heiligen Schrift, und ins besondere von der Mosaischen Beschreibung der Erschaffung des ersten Menschen, nebst einigen Anmerckungen (Danzig: Knoch, 1745).
Lebens-Beschreibungen derer verstorbenen Preußischen Mathematiker überhaupt und des vor mehr denn hundert Jahren verstorbenen großen Preußischen Mathematikers P.Christian Otters insbesondere (Königsberg and Leipzig: Hartung, 1764).
(published anon.) "Geschichte des Herrn Friedrich Johann Buck ordentlichen Professors der Logik und Metaphysik auf der königl. Universität zu Königsberg" in Neues gelehrtes Europa (Wolfenbüttel, 1775), vol. 20, pp. 989-1059.
[1] See Kant’s letter of 16 March 1770 to Minister von Fürst, written the day after Langhansen’s death [AA 10:90-2]: “Doctor Buck, who is currently occupying the professorship of logic and metaphysics ... was also for several years the associate professor of mathematics, and received the vacated logic and metaphysics professorship only because of the Russian government; otherwise I would have received it, given the recommendation of the university.”
1702 (Feb 6): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1708 (Mar 31): Magister (Wittenberg).
1712 (Apr 14): AR (Königsberg).
1715: Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1718: Pastor (Guttenfeld in Pr.)
1726: Pastor (Deren).
Born in Danzig, died in Deren. Brother to Thomas (see below). [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 80]
1702 (Feb 6): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1708 (Mar 31): Magister (Wittenberg).
1712 (Apr 14): AR?
1714: Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1715: Assoc. Prof. of Poetry (Königsberg).*
Also: Burchard, Burchardt. Thomas Burckhard was born (1686) in Danzig and died (24 Jan 1744) in Königsberg, where he taught for about thirty years as an Aristotelian professor of poetry. His brother Christian Friedrich also taught at Könïgsberg (see above). A longer biography of Burckhard is also available. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746; Jöcher 1750-51; Pisanski 1886; Wotschke 1928]
Select Publications:
De imperatoribus occidentalibus qui imperio se abdicarunt (Königsberg, 1714).
De nobilibus Germaniae poetis (Königsberg, 1715).
1788 (Sep 23): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1792: Receives the licentia concionandi. [??]
1795: Teacher at the Altstadt School (Königsberg).
1798: Magister (Königsberg). [Not clear that he ever lectured at the university]
Gotthilf Christoph Wilhelm Busolt was born (6 Feb 1771) in Buchholz (near Landsberg, in East Prussia) and died (3 May 1831) in Königsberg. His father was the local pastor in Buchholz, and Busolt entered the clergy as well, although he is best remembered for his work on Prussian school reform.
Busolt was educated at home, but at the age of eight he moved to Königsberg to live with relatives following his father’s death. He began university studies in Königsberg in the fall of 1788, where he attended lectures by C. J. Kraus and Immanuel Kant (there are three sets of notes associated with Busolt's name – on anthropology, on physical geography, and on logic – although it is likely that he only purchased and did not himself write them). He also began teaching at a local Gymnasium, the Altstadt School, where Daniel Weymann (a Pietist opponent of Kant’s) was the rector, and tutored in various homes. An early exposure to the writings of Pestalozzi (as well as those of Rousseau, Basedow, and Campe) shaped his interest in public educational reform and, after receiving his magister in 1798, he toured Germany to study different public schools. He returned to Königsberg in 1800 with a government appointment as church advisor, then later as school advisor, and in this capacity he attempted to introduce Pestalozzi’s teaching methods. Because of the Napoleonic wars, the royal family and various other Berlin luminaries, such as Wilhelm von Humboldt, resided in Königsberg in 1808-09, and the royal family (Friedrich Wilhelm II, Luise, and their children) spent the summers at Busolt’s estate just outside of town (the estate formerly owned by T. G. Hippel). Busolt gave public lectures on pedagogy at this time, which the royal couple, as well as Humboldt, attended. [Sources: Neuer Nekrolog 1831, 9:383-85; Reusch 1848, 18; APB; Gause 1996, ii.225, 320, 323, 353, 357-9]
Select Publications:
Dreißig-jährige Erfahrungen aus Beobachtungen über Erziehung, Unterricht und Selbstentwicklung (Königsberg, 1829).
1732: Dr. of Medicine (Halle).
1734: Assoc. Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1738: 5th Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1741: 4th Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1748: 3rd Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1766: 2nd Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
Christoph Gottlieb Büttner was born (10 Jul 1708) in Brandenburg (now Ushakovo), about twenty kilometers south-west of Königsberg, and died (1 Apr 1776) in Konigsberg. He is best known as a skilled anatomist with a famous collection of prepared specimens, as well as for his work in forensic medicine and abnormal anatomy. (He should not be confused with either Christian Wilhelm Büttner (1716-1801), a professor of natural history at Göttingen, or Christoph Andreas Büttner (1706-74), a professor of philosophy at Halle.)
One minor biographical connection to his famous fellow townsman Immanuel Kant: Büttner married a daughter of Christoph Daniel Meltzer [bio], one of his old medical professors, and Büttner’s own daughter, Johanna Eleonora (1751-95), married the mathematician Johann Schultz [bio], a colleague and occasional collaborator of Kant’s. A letter from Johanna to Kant (22 December 1793) suggests a daughterly affection for the elderly philosopher. A longer biography of Büttner is also available. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746; Arnoldt 1756; Arnoldt 1769; Börner 1749-53; Goldbeck 1782; Pisanski 1886; Meusel; APB; ADB] [last update: 2 Aug 2010]
Select Publications:
In vielen Jahren gesammlete anatomische Wahrnehmungen (Königsberg, 1768).
Aufrichtiger Unterricht vor neu angehende Aerzte und Wundärzte, wie sie sich vor, in, und nach der legalen Besichtigungen todter Körper zu verhalten und die Besichtigungsscheine von der Tödtlichkeit der Wunden einzurichten haben (Königsberg and Leipzig, 1769).
Gesammelte anatomischen Abhandlungen (Königsberg, 1769).
Anatomische Wahrnehmungen, mit Kupfern (Königsberg, 1769).
Vollständige Anweisung wie durch anzustellende Besichtigungen ein verübter Kindermord auszumitteln sey, nebst acht und achtzig beygefügten eigenen Obductions-Zeugnissen (Königsberg, 1771).
Sechs seltene Anatomisch-Chirurgische Wahrnehmungen (Königsberg, 1774).
1723 (Apr 30): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1730: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1740: Assoc. Prof. of Antiquity (a special chair of philosophy).*
Also: Georg. Born and died (Jan 28) in Königsberg. Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999] indicate that he offered courses from WS 1739/40 to WS 1749/50. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.426; 1756, 76; Goldbeck 1782, 29]
1701: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1715 (Dec 3): Dr. of Medicine.
1717: Assoc. Prof. of Medicine.
1720: 4th Full Prof. of Medicine.
1728 (Mar 10): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences; 2nd Full Prof. of Medicine.
1738: Royal Hofrat & Leibarzt.
Born (Feb 21) and died (Jan 24) in Königsberg; the son of the law professor Karl Heinrich Charisus (1650-1709). He studied law as well as medicine. He developed an extensive cabinet of natural specimens, which later entered the collection of F.F. Saturgus. [Adolf Saturgus (1685-1739)? See entry under “Sanden”] Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.313, 334; APB; ADB]
1760 (Aug 2): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1767 (Apr 10): Magister and Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).
Also: Ivan Parfenovich Chmelnitski. A Russian and a direct descendent of Hetman Bogdan Chmelnitski. He was born in January 1742, studied a year at Kiev Theological Academy, and then matriculated at the university at Königsberg in 1760, where Immanuel Kant had been lecturing since 1755. Only a few traces of his activity here remain. He received his magister from Königsberg in 1767 with a dissertation on de servitute minus toleranda, ob rationes, but he could not have lectured there long, if at all, and certainly not after 1769. He returned to Russia as First Secretary of the Senate, and was appointed by Catherine II to the commission on legal reform. He translated various scholarly works from the German into Russian, including a “Refutatation of Slavery according to Natural Law” and the writings of the Czech educational reformer Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670). He died on 2 January 1794.
In his remarks on the 1762 disputation on the 'elucidation of the principles of ontology' held by the Crusian Pietist Daniel Weymann (1732-95), Chmelnicki attempted to refute the basic metaphysical principles found in Baumeister's Institutiones metaphysica (1739) along the same lines as taken in Kant's Nova dilucidatio (1755). Baumeister's popular Wolffian metaphysics textbook had once been used by Kant in his lectures, and was still used routinely by the full professor of logic and metaphysics, Georg David Kypke (1724-79). At the beginning of the winter semester 1763-4, the newly habilitated Gottlieb Schlegel (1739-1810) published a disputation (De gravibus quibusdam psychologiae dogmatibus, 1763) which Chmelnicki criticized in a pamphlet later that year, arguing that Schlegel's topic hardly counted as gravia dogmata, that any claims proceeding from the simplicity of the soul are empty, and that his proofs for the soul's immortality all failed. Three years later (September 1765) the theology faculty prevented the publication of a further pamphlet of Chmelnicki's on the question of whether God must possess more than infinite power; the work appeared the following year. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 157-8; Pisanski 1886, 535-6, 538; HM, 1:581; Stark 1999b]
Select Publications:
Gravia quaedam psychologiae dogmatae sub incudem revocata (Königsberg, 1763).
Gedanken über die Frage: ob Gott mehr als eine undendliche Grundkraft besitze (1766).
De servitute minus toleranda, ob rationes ex jure naturae et gentium allatas (Königsberg, 1767).
1723 (Sep 30): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1735 (Jun 15): Magister (Halle).
1735 (Aug 27): AR, Assoc. Prof. of Practical Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1736: Inspector of the Gröben Scholarship House.
1749: Full Prof. of Practical Philosophy (replaced Gregorovius)(Königsberg).*
1763-80: Librarian, Wallenrodt Library (replaced J. H. D. Moldenhawer).
Born (Nov 29) and died (Jun 21) in Königsberg, where he taught moral philosophy for many years at the university. He studied at the Cathedral School before attending the Albertina and finishing at Halle, where he also taught at the grammar school (beginning in 1731) He became a Pietist Wolffian and protégé of F. A. Schultz and returned to Königsberg as an associate, then full professor of practical philosophy, lecturing primarily on natural law, using a text by L. P. Thümmig, Institutiones philosophiae Wolfianae (Frankfurt/Leipzig 1725-26), but also texts by Wolff and, later, Achenwall. Kant’s career was somewhat intertwined with Christiani’s. While jockeying for a full professorship, Kant once suggested to Berlin that Christiani assume the Mathematics position recently vacated by the death of his father-in-law (Langhansen).[1] Later, Kant entered the faculty senate upon Christiani’s death, and dedicated a poem to him.[2] Kant’s former student, Christian Jacob Kraus, replaced Christiani as full professor of practical philosophy. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.425; Arnoldt 1756, 68-69, 76; Arnoldt 1769, 47; Goldbeck 1781-83, i.208-9; Pisanski 1886, 496, 505, 562-63; Meusel 1803, 2:103; Jöcher/Adelung 1787, vol. 2, col. 319; APB; Gause 1996, ii.36, 242, 247; Ziesemer/Henkel 1955-79, 4:193, 199]
Select Publications:
De regulis, quas homo stando, ac eundo observat (Königsberg, 1735).
De pugna appetitus et aversationis naturalis cum aversatione et appetitu sensitivo (Königsberg, 1735).
De vera religione seu firmissimo civitatis conservandae vinculo (Königsberg, 1744).
De paroemia iuris: Kauf geht vor Miethe, sit iuris naturalis? (Königsberg, 1749).
[1] Kant had suggested in a letter to Carl Joseph Maximilian Freyherrn v. Fürst u. Kupferberg (March 16, 1770; AA 2: 90-91) that Christiani assume his father-in-law’s chair of mathematics, so that Kant could have the chair of practical philosophy. Kant noted that Christiani had as good an understanding of mathematics as anyone at the university, and that he was also the best candidate as inspector of the Alumnat [glossary], a position normally held by the mathematics chair because the astronomical observatory and related instruments were found there. This inspectorate also included the benefit of free lodging at the college.
[2] According to Hamann, Christiani died rather suddenly, working in his garden in the evening, found dead in his bed the next morning (from a letter to Kraus, Christiani’s eventual successor, in Hamann, Briefwechsel, v.199-200; repr. in Malter 1990, 160-1).
1713-17: Conrector (Marienburg).
1717-26: Pastor (Danzig).
1720?: Lecturer in Philosophy.
1726: Ministerial Candidate (Danzig). [?]
1726: Conrector, Cathedral School (Königsberg).
1728, 1735, 1743: Conrector, prorector, then rector of the Altstadt School.
1742 (Mar 12): Matriculation (Königsberg).
Born in Storcow (in the Mark), died (May 4) in Königsberg. His matriculation in 1742 is on the occasion of his rectorship. He shows no previous matriculation; it’s unclear if he ever lectured at the university. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 127-8; Pisanski 1886, 474]
1707 (Oct 10): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1712: Magister (Jena).
1713 (Dec 11): AR (Königsberg).
1714: Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1716, 1719: Conrector, then rector, of the Cathedral School (replacing J. J. Oswald).
Born (Mar 1) in Liebstadt (Prussia), died (Mar 13) in Königsberg. Traveled in Holland and Germany after receiving his magister degree. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 128; Pisanski 1886, 475]
1698 (Oct 1): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1705 (Oct 8): Magister (Jena).
1706: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1711: Pastor at the Friedrichsberg fortress (Königsberg).
1717: Deacon at the Sackheim Church.
Born and died (Mar 25) in Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 129]
1726 (Feb 28): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1735 (Oct 10): Magister (Königsberg).
1736: Lecturer in Philosophy (rhetoric and history).*
1736: Assoc. Prof. of Rhetoric & History (began WS 1736/37).
1737: 2nd inspector of the alumnat (replacing Schaewen).
1744: Rector of the Löbenicht School.
Born (1710) in Gerdauen, died (12 Nov 1748) in Königsberg. His father was rector in Gerdauen, and later a pastor in Assaunen. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.425, 433; APB] [last update: 5 Jun 2007]
1703 (Aug 13): Matriculation (Königsberg).[1]
1710 (Aug 12): Magister (Jena).
[1710: Assoc. Prof. of Church History and Oriental Languages (Königsberg).] — this can’t be right.
1713: Präses (Leipzig).
1726: Assoc. Prof. of Theology; and deacon at the Oberkirche, later pastor and inspector (Frankfurt).
Born in Königsberg, the son of Friedrich Deutsch, Full Prof. of Theology. Not in Pisanski. Not in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999], so had left before SS 1720. Bornhak [1900, 113] claims his appointment to assoc. prof. occurred on Dec. 18, 1713. Hagelgans [1737] lists someone with the same name on the theology faculty at Frankfurt/Oder. Arnoldt does not include him in his list of Assoc. Prof. for Philosophy, although he does give a brief biography [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 143]
[1] Or else: 1701 (Apr 1), where the Matrikel reads: “Deutsch, Christ. Regio-Pr, Rectoris Academiae filus, ritu depositionis iam anno 1698, die 25. Febr. iniatutus.” The Frankfurt Matrikel for March 22, 1718, reads “ – m. Christianus Deutsch Regiomontanus Borussus”, with a payment of 6 gr.
1688: 2nd Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1703: Higher court-chaplain and 1st Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
Died (21 April 1709) from the plague, in Königsberg, as the First Professor of Theology. He was the father of Christian Deutsch (see above). [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 10; Rogge 1878, 523] [last update: 20 Jul 2010]
1775: Lecturer in Philosophy (Göttingen).
1780 (Jul 20): Full Prof. of Oriental Languages.
Born (Aug 29) and died (Mar 28) in Königsberg. Received his magister degree at Göttingen, where he studied under J. D. Michaelis (bio), and then taught as a lecturer. He was called to Königsberg in 1780 to assume the post Oriental Language. He was already quite ill when he arrived in Königsberg, and it is not clear that he actually gave any lectures. His only teaching entry was for WS 1780/81. See Kant’s official writing concerning Diederich’s assumption of the professorship (AA 12:421-22). [Sources: Pisanski 1886, 637; Metzger 1804b, 52-3; ADB]
1766: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1774: Dr. of Medicine; begins medical practice in Bartenstein.
1775: Kreisphysikus (Bartenstein).
1785: 3rd Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg); government advisor.
1806: 1st Prof. of Medicine.
Born and died (Apr 19) in Königsberg, his father a master baker. Attended the Collegium Fridericianum, then the university (first mathematics, then medicine, but also attending Kant’s lectures). After graduating with his medical degree (1774) he set up a practice in Bartenstein (now Poland: Bartoszyce), a city 60 km south and east of Königsberg. He returned to teach in the medical faculty at Königsberg (first entry in the Lecture Catalog was for 1785/86). He was Kant’s physician during his last years (and dinner guest?), and was rector of the university at the time of Kant’s death. His son (below), belonged to Kant’s circle of dinner friends. [Sources: Goldbeck 1781, 1: 32-33, 2: 16; Baczko 1790, 603-4 (bibliography); Metzger 1804b, 62; Hartung 1825, 263; APB; ADB]
1792 (Mar 27): Matriculation at the Albertinum.
1815: Full Prof. of Medicine.
Son of the above. The younger Elsner studied under Kant and left us the Elsner anthropology notes. Kant wrote a testimonial for him (dated 10 June 1800). “Dass Herr Christoph Johann Heinr. Elsner, aus Bartenstein in Preussen gebürtig; Sohn des Herrn Dr. Elsner, practischen Medicus in Königsberg: der von Berlin, über Hamburg nach Bordeaux zu Schiffe abgegangen, bey mir alle seine philosophische Collegia frequentiert und von seinem Fleiss zu Erwerbung gründlicher Kenntnisse die besten Proben gegeben, bezeuge hiemit. / Koenigsberg, d. 10. Juny 1800./ Immanuel Kant Der Logik und Metaph./ Professor ordin., der Philos. Facult u. der ganzen Universität Senior, der Königl. Preuss. Acad der Wissensch. in Berlin und der Russische Kayserlichen zu St. Petersburg Mitglied.” [qtd. in Stark 1993, 260]. He was in Berlin at the end of 1799, as we learn in Kant’s letter to Erhard [AA 12: 297]. [Sources: AA 13: 503]
1691 (Apr 3): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1701 (Sep 13): Magister (Jena).
1702 (Sep 11): AR, Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
Born (Jun 8) and died (Aug 16) in Königsberg.[1] In his lectures he tried to ground rhetoric in Aristotle’s dialectic and politics, as also in his In verba Aristotelis: rhetorica est surculus dialecticaeet politicae (1701). [Arnoldt 1756, 134; Pisanski 1886, 650]
[1] Not to be confused with Johann Engelbrecht, born in Shippenbeil, died (1728) in Thierenberg; 1696 (Apr 26) receives the Magister at Königsberg; 1706 becomes Pastor at Thierenberg (mentioned in Arnoldt 1756, 134; Arnoldt 1777, 17, gives the death date as 1/1/1729).
1743 (Dec 20): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1747: Pastor at the orphanage (Königsberg).
1749: Deacon at the Alt-Roßgarten Church.
1752 (Dec 15): Magister; Assoc. Prof. of Greek.
Also: Engelschmid/Engelschmied. Born in Anhalt-Dessau, died (Mar 5) in Königsberg. He was the inspector at the orphanage in Halle, then moved to Königsberg to served as the inspector at the College Fridericianum. He is not indexed in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999], so presumably never announced any classes. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 87-88; Arnoldt 1777, 17] [last update: 21 May 2007]
1806: Professor at Königsberg (fleeing the Napoleanic forces).
See Jena.
1703 (Mar 31): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1710 (Aug 12): Magister (Jena).
1711 (Jul 28): AR; Lecturer in Philosophy.* (PR: 1712)
1715-25: Assoc. Prof. of Physics.
1721: Lecturing on Wolff’s Vernünftige Gedanken.
1725: Forced by Pietists to leave the university and city; traveled abroad.
Born and died (Dec 15) in Königsberg. Son of the Königsberg merchant Gabriel Fischer (1656-1699). Attended the Altstadt School; entered the university in 1703 to study theology and oriental languages. Received his magister degree from Jena, and then studied further in Rostock. He was a friend of Melchior Philipp Hartmann, helping him order and catalog his amber collection. He declared himself an empiricist in a physics lecture announcement in 1717 [Selle 1956, 133]. As a theologian and a physicist, he lectured on Wolff, and was eventually chased out of the university by the Pietists in 1725 because of his attacks against them (on November 15, the King gave him 24 hours to leave Königsberg, and 48 hours to leave Prussia, just as he had dealt with Wolff in 1723). Fischer returned to Königsberg in 1736, but never regained a position as a professor. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.418; Meusel; Pisanski 1886, 526; APB; ADB; Wotschke 1928, 45; Selle 1956, 133-35; Klemme 1994, 19]
Select Publications:
Vernunftige Gedanken von der Natur (1743).
1697 (Apr 1): Matriculation (Law/Königsberg).
1705 (Dec 20): Magister (Wittenberg).
1706 (Nov 17): AR, Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1707: Deacon at the Löbenicht Church.
1708: Deacon at the Cathedral.
Also: Flotwell. Born (Mar 31) and died (Apr 25) in Königsberg. Father of Cölestin Christian (see below). [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 136-37; Arnoldt 1777, 64] [last update: 23 May 2007]
1724 (Sep 27): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1730: Continues studies at Jena.
1733 (Oct 17): Magister (Jena).
1734 (Aug 27): AR.
1735: Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1743: Full Prof. of German Rhetoric (a new chair in the philosophy faculty); director of the German literary society.
1750: Rector of the Cathedral School (replaced Salthenius).
Born (Apr 5) and died (Jan 2) in Königsberg. Son of Christian Flottwell (see above); imbued in Wolffian philosophy at Jena, where he received his magister degree. Affiliated with Gottsched in Leipzig, later returned to Königsberg, where he habilitated (PR = 5/11/1735) despite the resistance of the Pietists, and was promoted to a new chair of German Rhetoric in 1743 (PL = 11/11), and made director of the new German Society. He thought little of the Pietists, writing to Gottsched that “our theological faculty consists of men who either have perjured themselves more than once, like Dr. [F. A.] Schultz, or who are stupid, like Dr. [J. D.] Kypke, or who are conceited and envious, like Dr. [D. H.] Arnoldt, or who have become a friend with the devil himself [D. L. Salthenius]” (qtd. in Erdmann [1876, 37]). [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.415; Goldbeck 1782, 176; Meusel; Pisanski 1886, 475; Wotschke 1929/30, 41f., 92]
1699 (Apr 25): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1704 (Sep 18) Magister (Königsberg).
1705: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1711, 1720: Assistant Deacon, then Deacon at the Tragheim Church.
Also: Friderichs. Born and died (Feb 8) in Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 137]
1720: Matriculation (Rostock).
1722: Leipzig.
1723 (Nov 9): Magister (Rostock).
1724 (Jan 21): Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).
1724: Private tutor near Pr. Holland.
1728: Pastor in Marienburg.
Also: From. Born (22 Aug 1701) in Dirschau, died (18 Mar 1762) in Marienburg. Studied in Dirschau and Marienburg, then the Gymnasium in Danzig. Son of a pastor in Dirschau. Matriculated at Königsberg (21 Jan 1724) as a Magister. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 90; APB; Erler, ii. 319]
1735 (Nov 3): Matriculation, with law faculty (Königsberg).
1738 (Feb 3): AR (again as a student).
1741 (Dec 13): Matriculation (Frankfurt/Oder).
1749 (Apr 9): Lecturer with the law faculty (Königsberg).*
1763: Kriminalrat.
Also: Funck. Born 11 Sep 1721 in Pröckuls (in Pr.); died 7 Apr 1764 in Königsberg. A popular lecturer of law, and a close friend of Kant’s (Kuehn calls him “Kant’s closest friend” [2001, 149]), Hamann’s, and Hippel’s; he married Knutzen’s widow; died abruptly from an infection. On the controversy surrounding his burial, see Hamann’s letter to Lindner (21 April 1764). [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 91; Pisanski 1886, 602; Kuehn 2001,110-12, 149]
1703 (Aug 28): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1707, 1709: Prorector, rector in Rastenburg.
1710: Rector in Marienburg.
1711: PR.
1712-28: Pastor in Dollstädt.
1735: Pastor in Liebstadt.
Born (April) in Kolberg (Pomerania), died (Apr 27) in Liebstadt. It appears he held a pro receptione disputation in Königsberg in 1711, but his various appointments suggest that he never held lectures at the university. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 138; APB]
1679 (Apr 13): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1704 (Sep 18): Magister (Königsberg).
1705: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1714: Assoc. Prof. (temporary).
1716: Full Prof. of Greek.
Also: Gercke. Born (Jan 31) in Rastenburg (Prussia), died (Jun 14) in Königsberg. When he applied for the full professorship of Greek, a letter of support was signed by 124 of his students and included the following: “This diligent man works 10 hours each day on his lecturing, and the 11th is for conferences where any student can come to him with their questions" (qtd. in Bornhak 1900, 87). [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.371-2, 433]
1778 (Jul 29): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1790: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1795: Assoc. Prof. of Mathematic (PL in 1794).
Johann Friedrich Gensichen was born in 1759, and died in Königsberg on 7 September 1807. He was a respected professor of mathematics at the university in Königsberg and a close associate of Kant’s in his later years. Kant named Gensichen as the executor of his will (later replaced by Wasianski), and also left him his small library, which was then auctioned after Gensichen’s death. A longer biography of Gensichen is also available. [Sources: Abegg 1976; HM; Metzger 1804b, 68-69; Vorländer 1924; Stark 1993, 29-32; see also a website developed by a descendant of Gensichen.]
Select Publications:
De figuris inscriptis maximis nec non de figuarum divisione (Königsberg: Hartung, 1790).
Bemerkungen über die Theorien der Parallelen des Herrn Hofprediger Schultz und der Herren Gensichen und Bendavid (Libau: Johann Daniel Friedrich, 1796).
1677 (Apr 13): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1685 (Apr 26): Magister and Lecturer in Philosophy.
1688: 2nd inspector of the alumnat.
1694: Full Prof. of Poetry.
1701-7: Owner of a book printing business.
Born (May 13) and died (Jul 12) in Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, i.346, ii.403-4; Pisanski 1886, 521; APB; NDB]
1757: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
Or: Gerhard. Pisanski notes that Gerhard (whom he refers to as the ‘Baudirector’) received in 1757 his privilege to teach theoretical and practical mathematics. [Sources: Pisanski 1886, 691]
1714 (Mar 19): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1723 (Apr 2): Magister and Lecturer (Königsberg).*
1724: Flees to Leipzig to escape conscription.
See Leipzig.
1684: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1691: Promoted as Physikus (Bartenstein)??
1694: Lic. med.; Assoc. Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1701: Dr. of Medicine (Jul 14); Full Prof. of Physics; member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences (Nov 7).
1702 (Jan 10): Magister (Königsberg).
Born (Jul 15) and died (Apr 10) in Königsberg; the son of a baker and director of a poorhouse. Attended the Altstadt school, then the Albertina, traveled in Holland, Italy, and Germany, returned to Königsberg to study medicine, and began teaching as an Assoc. Prof. of Medicine. In 1701, after money was made available for a Full Prof. of Physics, he became the first to hold this title. As a physician, he was influenced by Cartesian physics. He died while writing a natural history of Prussia, finishing three volumes on the flora. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.330-31, 395, 433; Jöcher; APB; Selle 1956, 126]
1783: Professor of Theology (Königsberg).
Johann Hartmann Christoph Gräf was a theology professor at Königsberg and pastor at the Cathedral church. An account of a disputation with Gräf as the Präses (22 Jul 1784), as well as the ceremony of receiving his doctoral degree (29 Jul 1784) and his pro loco dissertation defense the following year (16 Sep 1785), was recorded in Christian Friedrich Puttlich’s diary [Warda 1905a, 277-78, 281-82].
Wald had shared for comment his 1804 memorial speech for Kant to the Academic Senate; comments by Gräf and C. J. Kraus are found on Wald’s copy (as preserved in Reicke 1860). [Sources: Baczko 1790, 605-6; Reicke 1860; Warda 1905a] [last update: 27 Aug 2020]
Select Publications:
Handbuch zur Erleichterung des Gebrauchs des Preußischen Landes-Katechism (Leipzig, 1790-94).
1701 (Jun 16): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1712: Magister (Halle).
1717 (Mar 30): Dr. of Law; Assoc. Prof. of Natural and International Law.
1726 [or 1725]: Acting Full Prof. of Practical Philosophy.
1728: Full Prof. of Practical Philosophy.
Born (Dec 24) in Johannisburg (Pr.), he was one of the last Aristotelians at Königsberg, and also one of the first to give his lectures in German on a regular basis. He also published some of his essays in German. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.392, 419; Pisanski 1886, 522; Selle 1956, 126]
1744 (Sep 4): Magister (Königsberg).
1751: Assoc. Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics (but he never occupied this professorship).
Professor of law (since SS 1746?). [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.433]
1702 (Sep 25): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1711: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
Also: Grosmann. From Godoken (Pr.). [Arnoldt 1756, 142-3, lists a Christoph Grossman from Rastenburg, who was conrector (1710), then prorector (1711), of the Aldstadt Church. Magister degree from Jena. Died 1729.]
1713 (Apr 20): Magister (Königsberg).
1720: Pastor, Tragheim Church (Königsberg).
Christoph Grube was born (11 Jan 1692) and died (22 Apr 1740) in Königsberg. He was a pastor at the Tragheim church. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 143; 1777, 18] [last update: 21 May 2007]
1709: Hofgerichtsadvocat (Königsberg).
1713: Dr. of Law (Franecker).
1715: Assoc. Prof. of Law (Königsberg).
1722: Hofhalsgerichtsasseßor (Königsberg).
1739: 4th Full Prof. of Law (Königsberg).
Born in Königsberg in 1687 to George Gruben (died 1723), a young jurist trained at Frankfurt/Oder (J.D., 1684) who would eventually become a Hofgerichtsrat(1695) in Königsberg. Georg Christopher taught in Königsberg as an Associate Professor of Law since 1739, eventually becoming the 4th Full Professor of Law in 1738. He died on 25 Feb 1745. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.258, 275; Pisanski 1886, 362-63; Hagelgans 1737]
1711 (Jul 21): AR (Königsberg).
1716: Lecturer in Philosophy?
1719: Deacon in Labiau.
Also: Gottfried Heinrich. Died (Jul 15) in Königsberg. Received his magister degree from Jena. Later a Deacon in Labiau. He was known as an Aristotelian. [Twin brother to Georg Christopher?][1] [Sources: Pisanski 1886, 523]
[1] Arnoldt [1777, 41, 202] lists two entries: (1) Born in Königsberg magister at Jena, ordained June 26, 1744, pastor in Uderwangen since 1756, and (2) Deacon in Tapiau since 1744. Died May 29, 1768.
1741 (Oct 20): AR, Philosophy.
1711 (Apr 10): (Königsberg).
1718: Magister (Jena).
1722-52: Assoc. Prof. of Greek (Königsberg).
1738-55: Librarian, Wallenrodt Library (replaced J. C. Volbrecht).
1739: Hofrat.
1752: Full Prof. of Rhetoric and History.
????: Trip to England.
Born and died in Königsberg. Son of Matthäus Gütther (28 Oct 1657-15 Sep 1707), a deacon in the Löbenicht church. Studied in Königsberg, Jena, and Halle. He founded the “Free Society” in 1745 and served as its first director. This was a group dedicated to furthering German and Latin prose and poetry. As such, he stood in competition with Flottwell and his Deutsche Gesellschaft, although Gottsched was on friendly terms with both Gütther and Flottwell, and the two societies eventually merged in 1781. Hagelgans [1737] lists him as a Full Prof. of Philosophy. [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 64; Goldbeck 1782, 152-3; APB] [last update: 23 May 2007]
K. G.
Hagen
1769 (Jan 23): Matriculation (Königsberg) to study medicine.
1772: Assumed the family pharmacy upon his father’s death.
1773: Passed the Pharmacy exam in Berlin.
1775 (Sep 28): Dr. Medicine (Königsberg), and Lecturer in Medicine (Königsberg).
1779: Assoc. Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1784 (Oct 14): Married Maria Johanna Rabe, granddaughter of Prof. Teske.
1788: Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1807: Full Prof. of Physics, Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Botany in the philosophy faculty (Königsberg).
Karl Gottfried Hagen
An engraving of Hagen in his later years appears as a frontispiece to volume one of his Lehrbuch der Apothekerkunst 7th edition (1821).
was born (24 Dec 1749) and died (2 Mar 1829) in Königsberg. He was the son of the court pharmacist, and eventually assumed the family business, as well as lecturing at the university on experimental chemistry, botany, and pharmacy. His son August reports that “he was an eager student of Kant’s” [1850b, 44]
Stark also lists two testimonials from Kant:
[14 Nov 1769] “Daß der Studiosus Juris Herr Carl Gottfried Hagen meinen philosophischen Vorlesungen mit rühmlichen Fleisse beygewohnet habe bezeuge hiemit Koenigsberg den 14ten Novembr 1769. M Immanuel Kant.”
[9 Apr 1773] “Virum iuvenem egregium Carol. Godofr. Hagen, Medicinae et Pharmaceuticae Cultorem, cum academicis studiis vacaret, meaque, in philosophicis institutione potissimum uteretur, literarum studiis impense deditum, nec ingenii solum dotibus, sed morum etiam honestate et decore conspicuum amabilem et in spem patriae succrescentem deprehendi. Qui, cum in quolibet litterarum genere non invita Minerva pedem promoturus fuisset, parentis sui de patria olim maxime meriti munus obire, quam in altiori gradu splendere maluit. Hunc, eundem in finem metropolim petentem cum votis persequar, simul hoc candido testimonio munere et, quantum per tenuitatem nominis licet, omnibus penes quos est iuventutis promovendae et potestas et studium, de meliori nota commendare volui. Regiom. Pruss. d. 9. April. 1773. Immanuel Kant Log. et Met. Prof. Ord.”
and during the 1790s he was a regular dinner guest of Kant’s, and was an important source of information on the natural sciences (among other things, he helped Kant reject phlogiston in light of Lavoisier’s isolation of oxygen). A longer biography of Hagen is also available. [Sources: Baczko 1790, 608-10; Metzger 1804b, 62-63; Reusch 1848, 29-30; Hagen 1850a; APB; ADB; NDB] [last update: 25 Jan 2024]
Select Publications:
Grundriß der Experimentalchemie (Königsberg, 1780).
1700 (Apr 1): Matriculation in Königsberg.
1705: Moved to Frankfurt/Oder.
1706 (Apr 27): Magister (Frankfurt/Oder).
1706-8: Jena.
1709 (Feb 22): AR, Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).
1714: Assoc. Prof. of Oriental Languages. [Arnoldt: 1713]
1715: Full Prof. of Oriental Languages.
1717 (Mar 16): Dr. of Theology in absentia (Greifswald).
1745 (Apr 30): Inspector of the Königsberg synagoge.
Johann Bernhard Hahn was born (12 Jun 1685) in Pörschken (Kreis Heiligenbeil) and died (8 Jul 1755) in Königsberg. He was the son of a pastor. Studied at Frankfurt/Oder and Jena; traveled through Germany, Holland, and England. He was dean of the philosophy faculty in 1755 when Kant received his magister degree on 12 June 1755, and gave a speech over the ancient Jews on that occasion. Served as rector of the university four times, including SS 1740, when Kant matriculated. He was a decisive opponent of Pietism [glossary]. While promoted (at the university of Greifswald) to a Dr. of Theology, he never lectured in the theology faculty. Pisanski lists him as teaching oriental languages in 1713 [1886, 637]. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.364; Meusel; APB; Wotschke 1928, 90; Dietzsch 2003, 178] [last update: 25 May 2007]
1739 (Jul 7): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1744: Magister; lecturer in Philosophy.
1749: Assoc. Prof. of Rhetoric and History.
Son of Professor J. B. Hahn, Sr. (see above). Served as 2nd inspector of the College from 1748-55 and 1757-70. Retired in 1778, but continued to offer private lectures. [Sources: Goldbeck 1782, 87; Baczko 1790, 610-11; Meusel]
1734 (Oct 2): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1744: Magister, Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1747: Catechist at the St. George Hospital church (Königsberg).
Born in Königsberg, where he also died in 1799 (“at age 85” – Rhesa). Andreas Halter was a pastor at St. George’s Hospital (where Kant attended school as a young boy, before attending the Collegium Fridericianum). He appears in the faculty minutes as teaching in 1766, and is also listed in the Address-Calender for 1770 along with seven other Magistri Legentes.[1] Goldbeck lists him as lecturing on introductory Greek and Hebrew during 1782, as well as serving as preacher at the Vorstadt St. George Hospital (where Kant spent his first year or two as a school boy). Hartung lists him as a professor from 1788-91, without specifying the discipline or status [1825, 264]. T. G. Hippel [bio] studied Hebrew with him in the late 1750s. Kant includes him in a list of philosophy faculty professors that he jotted down in some notes on anthropology (and dated by Adickes as written in 1790/91 or 1791); see also the Opus postumum [AA 22:14]. SS 1791 is the last semester that courses are listed under his name in the Lecture Catalog. [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 46; Baczko 1790, 611; Arnoldt 1908-9, v.207; Goldbeck 1782, 87, 262; Rhesa 1834, 15; Lindemann-Stark 2001, 94] [last update: 27 May 2007]
[1] Immanuel Kandt, Georg Christoph Pisanski, Johann Thiesen, Daniel Weimann, Carl Daniel Reusch, Michael Jäschke, and August Wilhelm Wlochatius.
1714: Assoc. Prof. of Medicine.
1718: 4th, then 3rd Full Prof. of Medicine.
1727: 2nd Full Prof. of Medicine.
1728: 1st Full Prof. of Medicine.
Born and died in Königsberg; the son of a professor of medicine (Philipp Jakob Hartmann, 1648-1707). Studied medicine in Leyden and Königsberg. He was the senior medical professor at least since 1737; in the last semester that his courses were announced (WS 1765/66), the KGPZ announced in its semi-annual listing of the courses: “The senior member of our Academy, D. Hartmann, will, if God grants him the life and health, clarify the illnesses of old age, 2 pm.” [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.313, 317-9; APB, Oberhausen/Pozzo 1999]
1782: Magister (Jena).
1783: Lecturer in Philosophy (Jena/summer semester).
1786:
Puttlich wrote in his diary for 1786:
“26. November [Sunday]. The new Prof. of oriental languages, Herr Hasse from Jena, who has taken the place of Prof. Köhler. […] 27. November [Monday]. Hasse began lecturing today […]” [Warda 1905a, 293].
This suggests Hasse began lecturing at Königsberg a bit after the start of WS 1786-87 (October 9).
Full Prof. of Oriental Languages (Königsberg), beginning with 1786-87.
1788: Dr. and Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1789: Consistory Councilor.
1790: Rector of the Cathedral School (until 9 Apr 1796); Consistory Advisor.
Johann Gottfried Hasse was born in Weimar (1759), the son of poor parents, and died in Königsberg (1806). He studied in Jena and received his Magister there (1782), where he lectured until taking a position at Königsberg as the Full Professor of Oriental Languages (beginning winter term 1786-87),Hasse matriculated at Königsberg on 11 November 1786: “Hasse Joh. Godfr., Vimarien., Professor linguarum orientalium” [Eler 1911, 2: 597]
holding his pro receptione disputation on 31 Jan 1787.
This was recorded in the student C. F. Puttlich’s diary [Warda 1905a, 295]:
“Today Prof. Hasse disputed in the Audi Max. Woltersdorf responded and Meyer, Manitius, and Rink – all 4 graduated from the Coll. Frid. served as opponents … The disputation supposedly lasted until half past two o’clock. Rink could not oppose, since he was ill, and so a forgettable teacher from the Coll. Fridr. stood in for him. It is said to have gone quite well and Mangelsdorff, alone among the professors, served as opponent and joked a lot.”
“Heute disputirte Prof. Hasse im Aud. max. Woltersdorf war Respondent und Meyer, Manitius u. Rink, alle 4 aus dem Koll. Frid. dimittirt, waren Opponenten … Die Disputation soll bis halb 2 Uhr gewährt haben. Rink konnte, weil er krank war, nicht opponiren, für ihn thats ein gewisser Achtsnicht Lehrer am Koll. Fridr. Es soll recht gut gegangen seyn u. Mangelsdorff hatte von den Prof. allein opponirt u. viel gescherzt.”
Beginning in 1800, he taught the four-hour seminar on “theoretical and practical pedagogy” that Wald initiated in 1790.
Schwarz [1915, 58].
In 1789 he hoped to rent Kant’s lecture room (letter of June 18); whether Kant agreed to this is not known. He replaced Kant on the academic senate after Kant’s retirement in 1801, and was a regular table guest of Kant’s during the last three years. This led to his publishing a short biographical sketch (1804).
Hasse represented Herder’s views on language and poetry in his lectures. Metzger notes his gifts as a philologist and classicist, as well as being an exemplary teacher. [Sources: Baczko 1790, 611-123 (includes a bibliography); Metzger 1804b, 66; Reicke 1860, 42; APB; NDB; Stark 1993, 21-22]
Select Publications:
Letzte Äußerungen Kants von einem seinem Tischgenossen (Königsberg, 1804).
1657: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1663: Magister (Jena).
1667: Full Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics (Königsberg).
1679: 1st inspector of the alumnat (replacing Röling).
1694: Librarian, Royal Library.
Born (Jul 16) and died (Jul 11) in Königsberg. Attended the Löbenicht School, then the university, later receiving the magister degree at Jena. Full Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics at Königsberg, where he served three times as rector (1684, 1692, 1700). He also lectured on physics (there was no separate chair of physics until 1701). [Sources: Arnoldt 1746 i.337, ii.384-5, 395; Pisanski 1886, 291; APB]
1720 (Jun 10): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1733 (Jul 8): AR.
1734: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
Also: Heiligendorf. Not in Arnoldt. [A “Joh. Georg Heilgendörfer” is listed as teaching at the Kneiphof School and living on Magistergasse (1770 Address-Calender).] [Sources: Wotschke 1929/30, 41f.]
1695: (Mar 28): Matriculation? (Königsberg).
1700 (Apr 15): Magister (Königsberg).
1705: Pastor in Brandenburg (in Pr.).
Born in Königsberg, died (Jan 28) in Brandenburg. Lecturer in Philosophy. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 146]
1779: Full Prof. of Law.
Mentioned in Kant’s letter to Herz (Jan. 1779) as having passed him information about Herz’s lecturing activity in Berlin.
1694 (Sep 21): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1703 (Jan 29): AR, Lecturer in Philosophy.
Also: Hesse.
1779: Full Prof. of Law.
1796: Director and chancellor of the university.
Served as rector in SS 1785, 1787, 1789, 1793, 1797, and 1801. After his colleagues W. B. Jester (1736-85) and C. R. Braun (1714-82), Holtzhauer was the only professor teaching law at Königsberg, and thus the perpetual dean of the law faculty as well (he offered the only courses in SS 1785, after which M. C. Johswich offered classes as an adjunct, and then D. C. Reidenitz in SS 1788, who also was promoted to professor in 1790; and T. A. H. Schmalz arrived from Rinteln in 1789 as a professor). Hartung gives his death-year as 1807. [Sources: Baczko 1790, 617-18; Metzger 1804b, 38; Hartung 1825, 265]
1724 (Oct 10): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1733 (Jul 8): AR.
1735: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1675 (Apr 20): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1684 (Feb 9): Magister (Jena).
1684 (Sep 13): AR, Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).
1690: Rector at the Löbesnicht School.
1702: Rector at the Altstadt School.
Born (8 Mar 1659) in Milken (Kreis Lötzen, Pr.), died (8 Nov 1711) in Königsberg. Son of a deacon. There are two matriculation entries. The first (20 April 1675) reads: “Hoynovius, Mich. Milca-Borr.”; the second comes the following year (14 April 1676) and reads: “Hoynovius, Mich., Milka e ditione Leziensi Pruss., diaconi ecclesiae isthic bene meriti filius, orphanus, B. Johannis Prostka, pastoris isthic, e filia nepos”; also listed as “e schola Loebenici cum benedictione praeceptorum dimissi, iur.omnes”. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, 2: 516-17; Goldbeck 1782, 184; Pisanski 1886, 262, 474, 498; APB]
1781 (Sep 28): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1788 (summer): Leaves for travels through England, Scotland, France.
1791: Returns to Königsberg and begins a private medical practice.
1794 (Jul 28): Marries Johanna Dorothea Elisabeth Kanter (Königsberg).
1798-99: Lecturer of Medicine (Königsberg).
1801: Leaves Königsberg.
Born in Königsberg, the son of a shoemaker. He matriculated at the university in 1781 and soon became a student of Kant’s, as well as his amanuensis [glossary] from the spring of 1784 to 1788 when he left on travels through England, Scotland, and France. The clean copy of Kant's Grundlegung is in Jachmann's hand. He worked as a tutor for the wife of Pierre Jeremie Courtan, a merchant with the French colony in Königsberg, where J. G. Hamann made his acquaintance, and eventually Jachmann became good friends with Hamann's son, Michael.
During his travels, he would send descriptive letters back to Kant (from Edinburgh, 15 April 1789, #354, and 9 October 1789, #386; from Halle, 14 October 1790 (concerning his experiences in revolutionary France and Göttingen). While in Edinburgh he gave lectures on Kant’s philosophy. Kant wrote recommendations for him to visit Blumenbach and Kästner at Göttingen. He later practiced as a physician, married a daughter of Kanter’s, Jachmann’s brother briefly mentions Kant’s interest in this: “several months before my brother’s return from England, Kant had already chosen for him a Miss B., then one of the richest girls in Königsberg; and on the very first day of his visit Kant recommended this choice to him with such enthusiasm and offered himself so urgently as his solicitor that my brother’s confession that he had already chosen someone according to his heart was really unpleasant to him.” [1804, 95] and offered occasional courses in the medical faculty at the Albertina: SS 1798 (physiology), WS 98/99 (venereal disease), and SS 99 (physiology). His younger brother, Reinhold Bernhard [bio], who became an important educational reformer in Prussia, also studied with Kant and served for a few years as his amanuensis. [Sources: Arnoldt 1908-9, 5: 278-9; NDB; Stark 2015; O/P]
Summer 1777- Spring 1783: Elisabethanum Gymnasium (Breslau).
1783-85: studied theology (Halle). [ADB: until 1786]
1791 (late fall)-1792 (spring): studied philosophy (Königsberg). There is no matriculation record for Jäsche in Erler [1911-12] [ADB: until 1795]
1792 (April)-1799: Courland (as a tutor). [Morgenstern 1843, 28-30]
1795: Magister (Halle). During the middle of his stay in Courland, Jäsche sent a Latin treatise – De Parmenide Pantheist a eiusque in philosopiam meritis – in 1795 to Halle by way of “his university friend Professor Maass,” which completed his requirements for graduating with a “philosophical doctorate” [Morgenstern 1843, 30]
1799 (Feb): Return to Königsberg. [Morgenstern 1843, 30]
1799 (Oct 11): PR, lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).* [Morgenstern 1843, 30]
1801 (July): Visits Danzig during the summer vacation to look for a position there. [Morgenstern 1843, 32-33]
1802 (April 4): Marries Sally Straker (from Newcastle).
1802 (April): Full Prof. of Philosophy (Dorpat).
(Also: Jähsche; first name is often wrongly listed as ‘Gottlieb’) Jäsche was born on 3 July 1762 in Wartenberg (near Breslau/Wroclow, in Silesia; now Poland) and died on 25 August 1842 in Dorpat (Tartu, Estonia). He is remembered primarily as an associate of Kant’s and the editor of Kant’s logic lectures [1800].
His father was a pastor and rector of the local school, and young Gottlob was tutored at home before entering the gymnasium in Breslau in 1777. He matriculated at Halle to study theology (1783-85) under Nösselt [bio], Bahrdt [bio], and J. A. Eberhard [bio], then philosophy at Königsberg (Fall 1791, although his name does not appear in the Matrikel), attending Kant’s lectures on anthropology and metaphysics, as well as lectures by Kraus [bio] and Schmalz [bio]. Jäsche returned to Halle to receive his magister degree (1795), then returned to Königsberg where he habilitated (1799), and lectured for the next two years on metaphysics (using L. H. Jakob [bio], Grundriß der allg. Logik and C. C. Schmid [bio], Grundriß der Metaphysik), encyclopedia of philosophy (lecturing from his own notes), history of philosophy (using J. G. Gurlitt, Abriß der Geschichte der Philosophie), and logic (using Jakob, and then in SS 01 his own edited volume of Kant’s logic lectures).
Jäsche moved to Danzig in July 1801, bringing with him a large number of manuscripts given to him by Kant, and in April 1802 assumed a professorship of philosophy at the newly founded universtiy at Dorpat (Tartu, Estonia). Much of this Kantiana was then passed on to Karl Morgenstern [bio], a younger colleague at Dorpat.
A biography with a more complete bibliography of Jäsche is also available. [Sources: HM, 3: 503-4, 10: 11, 11: 394, 14: 223, 18: 253, 23: 15-16; Morgenstern 1843; ADB; NDB; BBK; Stark 1987a, 146; Stark 1993, 27-29; Stark 2014; O/P] [last update: 2 Mar 2023]
Select Publications:
De arctissimo disciplinarum inter se nexu (Königsberg: Hartung, 1799). [habilitationsschrift]
(anon.) Ueber reinen Naturalismus und positive insonderheit christliche Religion und deren Verhältniß zur Volksaufklärung (Berlin: Königlich-Preußische Akademische Kunst- und Buchhandlung, 1790).
Stimme eines Arktikers über Fichte und sein Verfahren gegen die Kantianer (1799), 149 pp.
(editor), Immanuel Kants Logik, ein Handbuch zu Vorlesungen (Königsberg: F. Nicolovius, 1800).
(co-edited with F. T. Rink), Mancherley zur Geschichte der metacritischen Invasion, nebst einem Fragment einer ältern Metacritik von Johann George Hamann, genannt der Magus in Norden, und einigen Aufsätzen, die Kantische Philosophie betreffend (Königsberg: F. Nicolovius, 1800).
Grundlinien der Moralphilosophie oder der philosophischen Rechts- und Tugendlehre, nach Kant's Metaphysik der Sitten (Dorpat, 1804).
Grundlinien zu einer Architektonik und systematischen Universal-Encyklopädie der Wissenschaften (Dorpat, 1816).
Grundlinien der Ethik oder philosophische Sittenlehre (Dorpat, 1824).
Kurze Darstellung der philosophische Religionslehre (Dorpat, 1825).
1752 (Nov 30): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1761: Teaching at the Altstadt school.
1765: Magister & Lecturer (PR in 1766).
1777: Conrector at the Altstadt school.
Born in Graudenz, studied in Königsberg. Listed in the Lecture Catalog for WS 70/71 and WS 71/72. Conrector of the Alstadt school; the 1784 Address-Calendar (p. 62) lists him as such (Daniel Weymann is the prorector and Johann Christian Daubler the rector). [Sources: Goldbeck 1782, 88, 174; Baczko 1790, 618]
1722 (Oct 5): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1729 (Apr 23) Magister (Halle).
1730 (Nov 20): AR, Philosophy.
1734, 1738: Adjunct Pastor, then Pastor, at the Hospital Church in Königsberg.
1750: Deacon at the Altstadt Church.
Also: Jesterus; Christian Friedrich. Born (4 Feb 1708) and died (3 Mar 1779) in Königsberg; Sigismund Christoph Jester was a younger brother. He was the Archdeacon of the Altstadt church. He lectured for a few years in Königsberg (after returning from various travels, but then devoted himself to his pastoral work. Listed as the 1st deacon of the Altstadt church in the Addressbook of 1770. [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 27; Hamberger/Meusel 1778, 232; Goldbeck 1781, 214] [last update: 21 Jul 2011]
17??: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1739: Assist. Prof. of Law (Königsberg).
1752: 4th Full Prof. of Law (Königsberg).
Born (9 January 1715) in Königsberg, where he also died (1773). He was a younger brother to Friedrich Christian Jester. His father (Erhard Christian Jester, 1676-1767) was a pastor in Königsberg; his mother was Johanna Dorothea Ranger (1684-1730). He married (2 Feb 1739) Maria Charlotte von Sahme (a daughter of the law professor Reinhold Friedrich von Sahme [bio]) [Sources: ] [last update: 21 Jul 2011]
1752: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1763: Hofgerichtsadvokat.
1764: Dr. of Law; Lecturer in Law.
1765: Kriminalrat.
1773: Full Prof. of Law.
1779: 1st Full Prof. of Law; Chancellor of the University.
1780-85: Librarian, Wallenrodt Library (replaced C. A. Christiani).
Born (14 January 1736) in Königsberg, where he also died (9 February 1785). He is the son of a lawyer (Johann Bernhard, 5 May 1706-1755) and Sophia Röckner (a great-granddaughter of the poet Simon Dach). He married Sophia Charlotte Schimmelpfennig on 3 May 1763. [Sources: Metzger 1804b, 37; APB; NDB]
1732 (Apr 5): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1740 (Sept.): Magister (Halle).
1740 (Nov 11): AR.
1741: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1747 (Sep 22): Pastor in Lichtenhagen
Born in Königsberg, died (Dec 8) in Lichtenhagen. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 103; Arnoldt 1777, 191]
1743 (Sep 19): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1750 (Apr 14): Magister (Königsberg).
1751: PR.
1752 (SS): Assoc. Prof. of Mathematics.
Also: Johanßen, Johanszen. Born (1023) and died (Aug 4) in Königsberg. Announced classes one semester only (both public and private lectures). [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 77]
1764 (Sep 25): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1769: Magister.
1770: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1774-75: Prorector of the Royal Provincial School at Lyck.
1785 (Jun 4): Dr. of Law.
Born in Kutten (by Angerburg), studied in Königsberg and received his Magister degree. As a student, he participated in F. T. Baranski’s disputation (20 Dec. 1768). Goldbeck [1781] notes that he did not lecture, although he was a Privatdozent with the university; a year later, Goldbeck [1782] noted that he was no longer giving lectures. Nonetheless, Puttlich’s diary entry of 22 September 1785 reads: “I heard today that Johswich was booed at his Inaugural-Disputation and that no one gave a response [to the lecture] in the afternoon”[1] [Warda 1905a, 282]. [Sources: Goldbeck 1781, 238-39; Goldbeck 1782, 89; Warda 1905a, 280-82] [last update: 11 Dec 2010]
Select Publications:
D. de immortalitate spiritum rationis haud expertuim (Königsberg, 1770).
[1] Original: Ich hörte heute erzählen, daß der Johswich bey seiner Inaugural-disputation gestern wäre ausgepfiffen worden u. daß ihm Nachmittag niemand opponiert hätte. Puttlich's diary also includes entries of disputation involving Joswich (May 15 and 17, 1785), the conferral of the doctoral degree (June 4).
1740 (Sep 24): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1740-48: Student at the Albertina.
1748-5?: Private tutor outside of Königsberg.
1755 (Jun 12): Magister.
1755: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1766 (Apr)-1772 (Apr): 2nd Librarian, Royal Library (replaced J. B. Goraiski). Pisanski [1886, 493] has 1766-71; but see Warda [1899b].
1770 (SS): Full Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics (replaced Buck).*
1786 (Dec 7): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
1796 (Jul 23): Kant gives his last lecture, with about six weeks left in the term.
1801 (Nov. 14): Kant agrees to retire from his professorship.
Also: Kandt. Born (22 Apr 1724) and died (12 Feb 1804) in Königsberg; the son of a master harnessmaker. Attended the Collegium Fridericianum, then the Albertina, leaving without a magister degree to work as a private tutor. Returned to the university in 1755 and received his degree (Jun 12) [writings], habilitated (PR: Sep 27) [writings], and began lecturing on October 13 of that year [more]. Kant applied unsuccessfully for Knutzen’s old position of Assoc. Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics (vacant since 1751) [more], and then unsuccessfully for the Full Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics in 1758 left vacant by J. D. Kypke’s death [more]. He was offered a position as Full Prof. for Rhetoric and Poetry in 1764, which he declined. Since 1770 (PL: Aug 21) Full Professor of Logic and Metaphysics (replaced Buck, who had accepted a position as Full Prof. of Mathematics) [more]. Kant held his chair until his death, although he stopped teaching in SS 1796 [more]. His position was filled in 1805 by W. T. Krug. Early biographies of Kant include: Borowski [1804], Jachmann [1804], Wasianski [1804], Hasse [1804], Mellin [1804], Rink [1805], Reusch [1848], and the materials collected by Wald and printed in Reicke [1860]. All of these biographical materials and more have been collected in Kuehn [2002, 8 vols.]. See also Kant’s life. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 158-9; Goldbeck 1782, 84; ADB] [last update: 30 Jul 2011]
Johann Jakob Kanter was born (24 Sep 1738) Forstreuter [1932, 38] claims he was born on 24 Nov 1738. and died (18 April 1786) in Königsberg, where he was a publisher, bookseller, and Immanuel Kant’s landlord (from 1766-77).
He was the youngest son of Philipp Christoph Kanter (d. 1764), a printer and binder who opened a book shop at Langgasse 23 at the corner of Schmiedegasse (in the Altstadt). The elder Kanter was both a printer and a binder, and he made a small fortune printing Quandt’s [bio] bible and hymnal. When he died in 1764, the inheritance was divided among his four sons, all of whom remained in some aspect of the book business. The three older brothers were Daniel Christoph (d. 1812), who ran the family print shop (with seven presses, it was the largest in the city); Alexander, who poured metal-type; and Philipp Christoph Jr, who ran the bookbindery and the paper business.
The youngest son, Johann Jacob Kanter (1738-1786), learned the book trade in Leipzig, returned to Königsberg in 1760, Erler shows that Kanter also matriculated at the university in 1760 (July 8): “Kanter Joh. Jac., bibliopoarum scient. cult.” [1911, 476] received a publishing privilege during the Russian Occupation [glossary] (later confirmed by Friedrich the Great), and received a privilege to publish a newspaper so long as it brought no harm to Hartung’s business (who already had a newspaper publishing privilege) – for instance, Kanter could print political news only after a certain period of time had elapsed. This seeming disadvantage actually made him his fortune, as his newspaper – the Königsbergsche Gelehrte und Politische Zeitungen – developed into an important literary organ in Germany, with correspondents in Curland, Poland, St. Petersburg, and throughout Germany, with reviews and articles written by such talents as Hamann, Kant, Hippel, Scheffner, and Herder.
After the great Königsberg fire of 11 November 1764, Kanter bought
Hagen [1850, 242] claims that Kanter bought the town hall:
“After the great fire of 1764, Kanter was a citizen of Löbenicht and bought the newly built Löbenicht town hall.”
“Nach dem großen Brande 1764 war Kanter Bürger im Löbenicht und kaufte das neu gebaute Löbenichtsche Rathaus.”
Krause [1881, 77n] also claims this:
“His store, which was relocated in 1768 to the newly built Löbenicht town hall he had bought …”
“Sein Laden, der 1768 nach dem von ihm gekauften neu gebauten Löbenichtschen Rathaus verlegt wurde …”
as does Albinus, in his entry on the “Löbenichtsches Rathaus” [1985, 203]:
“Rebuilt, the meeting rooms of the Löbenicht brewers’ guild and the city guard were located here. – Then the bookseller Kanter bought the house; Kant lived and lectured in one of its attic rooms in 1769."
“Wieder aufgebaut, waren hier die Versammlungsräume der Löbenichtschen Brauerzünfte und der Stadtwache. – Dann kaufte der Buchhändler Kanter das Haus; Kant wohnte und dozierte 1769 in einer seiner Mansarden.”
or rented
Dreher writes [1896, 183]
“He rented[*note] the Löbenicht'sche Rathhaus (now Münchenhofgasse No. 2), which had been rebuilt after the great fire (from November 11 to 13, 1764), and he became a citizen of Löbenicht. He took the first floor as his private residence and set up his bookshop on the ground floor.
[Note] “The fact that Kanter did not buy the property, as Hagen assumes, is proven by the land deeds at the Royal District Court in Königsberg. This property was purchased only in 1788 by. Gottlieb Leberecht Hartung from the magistrate].”
“Er miethete[*note] das Löbenicht’sche Rathhaus (jetzt Münchenhofgasse Nr. 2), welches nach dem großen Brande (vom 11. bis 13. November 1764) neuerrichtet worden war, und wurde Bürger im Löbenicht. Das erste Stockwerk nahm er zur Privatwohnung; in den Räumlichkeiten des Erdeschosses richtete er seien Buchhandlung ein.”
[Note] “Daß Kanter das Grundstück nicht kaufte, wie Hagen annimmt, beweisen die Grundacten auf dem Kgl. Amtsgericht zu Königsberg. Dasselbe wurde erst 1788 durch. Gottl. Lebr. Hartung vom Magistrat käuflich erworben.”
Forstreuter writes [1932, 40]
“When Königsberg was ravaged by a great fire in 1764 and housing was scarce, Kanter rented the former Löbenicht town hall for 400 thalers and furnished it to his taste.”
“Als Königsberg im Jahre 1764 durch einen großen Brand heimgesucht wurde und die Wohnungen knapp waren, mietete Kanter fur 400 Taler das ehemalige Löbenichtsche Rathaus und richtete es nach seinem Geschmacke ein.”
and Gause [1996, 2: 234]:
“In 1768[*note] Kanter rented part of the former Löbenicht town hall, which had been rebuilt after the fire, and set up a bookshop here, […].”
[note:] “The Löbenicht town hall burned down in 1764 and was rebuilt in the following years with the addition of neighboring properties. It was owned by the magistrate, which rented it out in parts. We do not know exactly when the new building was completed, but we are informed about the date of the bookshop’s completion by a letter from Hamann to Herder dated August 28, 1768 […].”
“Kanter mietete 1768[*note] einen Teil des nach dem Brande neu aufgebauten ehemaligen löbenichtschen Rathauses und richtete hier einen Buchladen ein, […].”
[note:] “Das löbenichtsche Rathaus brannte 1764 ab und wurde in den folgenden Jahren mit Hinzunahme benachbarter Grundstücke neu aufgebaut. Es war im Besitz des Magistrats, der es in einzelnen Teilen vermietete. Wir wissen nicht genau, wann der Neubau fertig geworden ist, aber über den Zeitpunkt der Eiinrichtung des Ladens sind wir durch einen Brief Hamanns an Herder vom 28. August 1768 unterrichtet […].”
the newly-built Löbenicht Town Hall [glossary] (on the corner of the Löbenichtsche Langgasse and Münchengasse, with a large square to the west) in 1766, where he installed a bookshop that soon became an important gathering place for the scholars of Königsberg.
The Lecture Catalog for 1770-71 has as its 7th and last entry of the “philosophy lectures” (which at this point was just one of seven groupings in the faculty of philosophy) the following invitation to students to visit his bookshop on Tuesdays and Thursdays to read literary journals from Gottingen, Leipzig, Halle, Erfurt, and Königsberg, as well as other recent literary publications [“Joannes Jacobus Kanter, bibliopola, pro viribus suis, literis ipsis, literarumque studiosis inseruire cupiens, duobus per septimanam diebus, die nempe Martis et Iouis, [311] literas publicas, quae Gottingae, Lipsiae, Hale, Erfordi et Regiomonti, de rebus eruditionem concerneutibus prodeunt, et varia acta litteraria, quae recentissima sunt, domi suae legenda gratis exhibere promittit.” (Oberhausen/Pozzo 1999, 310-311)]
He sub-let rooms upstairs – Kant lived with him for eleven years (1766-1777) [more]. The bookshop fell on hard times toward the end of the 1770s, and Kanter gave it up in 1781. After Kanter’s death, the building was sold to G. L. Hartung. Near the end of Kanter’s business, on 24 January 1780, Hamann wrote to Herder:
“If the book trade becomes a Hartung monopoly, then it is over for all those who have been spoiled by Kanter’s good-heartedness and real generosity or indifference in the management of their own and other people’s goods, with his open table in his bookshop.”
Kanter kept a good selection of books and he would loan them out (of which both Kant and Hamann were beneficiaries). Kanter published books (including seven by Kant) and his newspaper (in which Kant published six items), but his real interest was in retail. He also had a printing shop in Marienwerder, a filial in Elbing, and (purchased in 1775) a papermill in Trutenau (several sets of notes from Kant’s lectures were written on paper with the Trutenau watermark). Kant’s former student and amanuensis, Johann Benjamin Jachmann [bio], married Kanter’s daughter and inherited the paper mill.
Kanter is listed as offering a course in the philosophy faculty for WS 1770/71 and appears in the Matrikel for 8 Jul 1760: “Kanter Joh. Jac., bibliopolarum scient. cult.”. [Sources: Hagen 1850, 232-52; Krause 1881, 76-77; Dreher 1896, 178-97; Forstreuter 1932, 37-61; Gause 1996, 2: 128, 233-37; Vorländer 1924, 1: 181; NDB; Oberhausen/Pozzo 1999] [last update: 9 Feb 2024]
1693 (Jul 13): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1704 (Sep 18): Magister (Königsberg), Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1707: Pastor in Lindenau (in Balgischen).
Born in Pr. Holland, died as a pastor in Lindenau. He was known as an Aristotelian. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 153; Pisanski 1886, 523]
1792 (Mar 31): Matriculation (Königsberg). “Kelch Wilhelm. Theophil., Regiomontan. Boruss., med.” [Erler 1911, 2: 619]
1795: Prosector at the anatomy theater (Königsberg).
1797: Doctor of Medicine (Königsberg).
Wilhelm Gottlieb Kelch was born (1776) and died (2 Feb 1813) in Königsberg, where he also studied at the Collegium Fridericianum and then the university (beginning in 1792, so he could have attended Kant’s lectures). His area was human anatomy, in which he lectured and gave demonstrations, as well as physiology and pharmaceutical botany.
Kelch examined Kant’s skull, or rather the death-mask prepared by Knorre, offering his craniological report in his Über den Schädel Kants, ein Beytrag zu Galls Hirn- und Schädellehre (Königsberg: Friedrich Nicolovius, 1804). [Sources: Metzger 1804b, 63-64; Ellendt 1898, 8]
1701 (Oct 12): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1708 (Jun 14): AR, Philosophy.
1708 (Oct 26): Adjunct Pastor at Germau.
Born (Jul 30) in Königsberg, died (Dec 8) in Germau. Received his magister from Rostock. He suffered a stroke on Christmas 1750. [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 10]
1731 (Sep 27): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1739 (March): Magister (Halle).
1740 (Aug 2): AR, Philosophy (Königsberg).
1743: Army chaplain.
Born in Germau (Pr.), died (Aug 25) during a military campaign near Oppeln (Schlesia), where he was serving as an army chaplain. He is possibly the son of E. F. Kesselring 1 (above) and twin-brother to Johann Heinrich (below) After receiving his magister degree in Halle under Baumgarten (on the topic de αναμαρτησια [anamartesia, sinlessness] ab hominibus in hac vita non obtinenda, he traveled in France and Germany, then returned to Königsberg and habilitated with an essay demonstrating that there are no imperfections in the world (1740). Three years later he took up a position as army chaplain, and died during a military campaign in Silesia. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 103; Pisanski 1886, 536]
Select Publications:
De mundi optmi absque malo impossibilitate (Königsberg, 1740).
1738: Dr. of Medicine (Halle).
1738: 3rd Full Prof. of Medicine and city physician (Königsberg).
Born (Jan 13) in Germau (Pr.), died (Mar 25) in Königsberg. Traveled in Denmark, Holland, England, and France before receiving his doctorate in Halle. Pisanski (Pisanski’s editor, Rudolph Philippi, indexes him as “Ernst Friedrich Kesselring.”) ascribes a 1723 essay on the instruments needed for a Steinschnitt, possibly the undated essay below) and a 1738 essay on the Fourbet method; but in any event, 1723 is certainly too early a date, if the birth-year is correct. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.317; Pisanski 1886, 630]
Select Publications:
De methodo Fourbetiana administrandi lithotomiam super acu triquetra (Halle, 1741).
Historiam methodorum administrandi lithotomiam (Königsberg).
1728 (Sep 30): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1733 (Sep 4): Magister.
1733 (Nov 11): Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1734 (SS): Assoc. Prof. of Logic and Metaphysic.
1740: Appearance of a comet predicted by Knutzen.
1744: Adjunct to the 1st librarian of the Royal Library[?] and to the 1st inspector of the alumnat.
Also: Knutz. Born (14 Dec 1713) and died (29 Jan 1751) in Königsberg, at the age of thirty-seven. He was the only son of Hagen Knudsen, a Danish merchant. Both his parents died by the time he was six, and he was raised thereafter by a great-aunt. Attended the Altstadt School; studied mainly mathematics and philosophy at the Albertina under Ammon, Teske, but also theology with F. A. Schultz, who converted him to Pietism [glossary]. Unlike so many, he received his magister degree at Königsberg (rather than Halle), and began lecturing in the winter of 1733 (pro receptione disputation: 11 Nov 1733, on the impossibility of the eternity of the world), and the following year was appointed associate professor of logic und metaphysics (pro loco disputation: 22 Apr 1735, on mind-body interaction).
Knutzen’s enlightenment tendencies moved him towards the Wolffian philosophy, but he remained at odds on various points (e.g., regarding mind-body interaction, he favored the causal influx theory over a pre-established harmony or occasionalism). Primarily because of Borowski’s comments, Knutzen has been viewed as the closest and most important of Kant’s teachers at the university (Kraus also claims that “the only teacher who could have stimulated Kant’s genius was Knutzen” [Reicke 1860, 7]); for a different perspective, see Kuehn [2001, 78-84]. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, 2: 424-5, 433; Buck 1764, 176-95; Meusel 1808, 7: 153-55; Jöcher/Adelung 1810, 3: 582-83; APB; ADB; Oberhausen/Pozzo 1999; Erdmann 1876; Waschkies 1987, 34-45] [last update: 3 Feb 2013]
Select Publications:
Diss. de aeternitate mundi impossibili (Königsberg, 1733).
Commentatio philosophica de commercio mentis et corporis per influxum physicum explicando (Königsberg, 1735).
Philosophischer Beweis, von der Wahrheit der christlichen Religion, darinnen die Nothwendigkeit einer geoffenbahreten Religion insgemein, und die Wahrheit oder Gewißheit der christlichen insbesondere aus ungezweifelten Gründen der Vernunft nach mathematischer Lehrart dargethan und behauptet wird (Königsberg, 1740).
Diss. de humanae mentis indivdua natura sive immaterialitate (Königsberg, 1741). Published in German as: Philosophische Abhandlung von der immateriellen Natur der Seele; darinnen theils überhaupt bewiesen wird, daß die Materie nicht denken könne, und daß die Seele unkörperlich sey, theils die vornehmsten Einwürfe der Materialisten deutlich beantwortet werden (Königsberg, 1744)
Commentatio mathematico-philosophica de cultura intellectus per studium matheseos (Königsberg, 1742).
Wohleingerichtetes Akademien, als Grundsäulen ganzen Völker und Länder; eine Rede die J. F. Weitenkampf bey der Universitätsfeyer hielt, und unter Knutzen’s Anleitung ausgearbeitet hatte (Königsberg, 1744).
Vernünftige Gedanken von den Cometen [...] (Königsberg, 1744).
Elementa philosophiae rationalis seu logicae (Königsberg, 1747).
1781 (Aug 13)-1786: Full Prof. of Oriental Languages (Königsberg).*
The Allgemeine Deutsche Bibliothek reported his call to Königsberg (following the death of J. C. Diederichs), and noted that that he was previously professor at Kiel and Göttingen, and most recently was living privately in his hometown of Lübeck (47:308-9). Metzger claims he died working as a copy editor at a printshop in Basel, having lived a restless life, always dissatisfied with his current situation. [Sources: Pisanski 1886, 637; Goldbeck 1782, 86; Metzger 1804b, 55-56] [mentioned in letters: x.417, 430, 452; xii.426][also Hamann's letter to Jacobi (29 May 1786) [Briefwechsel, 6: 410]
1713 (Jun 8): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1720 (Feb 15): Magister (Leipzig).
1721 (Sep 4): AR, Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1726, 1735: Adjunct, then Deacon in Tragheim.
1740: Pastor at Tragheim Church.
Born (Apr 7) and died (Nov 2) in Königsberg, the son of the Prussian poet and mayor of Altdorf, Michael Kongehl (1646-1710). Ludovici includes him in a list of Wolffians and cites this dissertation: de temperamentorum infirmitate et exiqua in moralibus utilitate (Königsberg, 1721 [Dec. 10]). [Sources: Ludovici 1735, i.344,373; Arnoldt 1769, 104; Wotschke 1928, 62]
1715 (Apr 15): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1727 (Sep 2): Law licentiate (Königsberg).
1729: Magister (Halle).
1729: Assoc. Prof. of Rhetoric and History* (Königsberg).
1730 (Jun 29): Dr. of Law (Königsberg).
1733: Consistory advisor (Samland).
1735-52: Full Prof. of Rhetoric and History (Königsberg).*
1752 (SS): Full Prof. of Law and Chancellor of the University (Königsberg).
Also: Kowalevski. Coelestin Kowalewski was born (11 Mar 1700) in Nikolaiken, and died (1771) in Königsberg. He was the son of a pastor. Popular with the students; served four times as rector. Kant honored his death with a few lines of verse: “Die Lehre, welcher nicht das Beyspiel Nachdruck giebt, / Welkt schon beym Unterricht und stirbt unausgeübt. / Umsonst schwillt das Gehirn von Sprüchen und Gesetzen, / Lernt nicht der Iüngling früh das Recht der Menschheit schätzen; / Wird niederm Geitze feind, von Vorurtheil bekehrt, / Wohlwollend, edel, treu und seines Lehrers werth. / Wenn denn gepries’ne Pflicht den Lehrer selbst verbindet, / Der Einsicht im Verstand, im Herzen Tugend gründet: / Wenn reine Redlichkeit, mit Wissenschaft vereint, / Dem Staate Diener zieht, dem Menschen einen Freund; / Dann darf kein schwülstig Lob, kein Marmor ihn erheben, / Er wird auch unberühmt, in ihren Sitten leben” [AA 12:395-96]. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.411-12; APB]
[1]Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999] give the death-year as 1772.
1771 (Apr 13): Matriculation (Königsberg). Kraus’s early biographer Voigt [1819, 21] claims that Kraus entered the university in Königsberg in October 1770, but the matriculation records show him enrolling the following spring.
1777 (Apr 24): Moves into the Keyserling home as Hofmeister.
1778 (November): Joins the Dreikronen freemasons lodge (sponsored by Hamann and Hippel) [Krause 1881, 211]
1778 (Dec 11): Leaves Königsberg for Berlin. [Krause 1881, 218, 222]
1778-79: Arrived in Berlin late December, and stayed till late May or early June 1779 (Kant to Herz, 15 Dec 1778; Kraus to Kant, 2 Mar 1779).
1779-80: Studied in Göttingen until fall 1780.
1780: Magister (Halle).
1780 (Dec 28): AR.
1781 (SS): Full Prof. of Practical Philosophy (replaced Christiani).* (PL: Nov 15)
1782-86: 2nd Librarian, City Library (replaced F. J. Buck).
1786-1804: 1st Librarian, City Library (replaced F. J. Buck).
Christian Jakob Kraus was born (27 Jul 1753) in Osterode (Kreis Mohrungen, East Prussia), and died (25 Aug 1807) in Königsberg. His father was a surgeon in Osterode, his mother the mayor’s daughter. His mother died just before he arrived at the university and he apparently received little emotional or financial support from his father. Kraus's father died on 1 Nov 1777; in a letter to his brother dated 15 Nov 1777 Kraus discusses disposing of the estate [Krause 1881, 69-70]. Once in Königsberg he received support from his mother’s brother, Johann Christian Bucholtz, a pastor at the Altstadt church, who found him a place to stay. Unfortunately this uncle also died in 1773, forcing Kraus to support himself at the university by tutoring on the side.
Kraus presumably matriculated as a theology student, but then in 1773 changed to the law faculty. He was an avid student of Kant’s, attending from 1771-74 all his lectures [Voigt 1819, 26], but it wasn't until his third year at the university that he managed to make Kant’s acquaintance, after which Kant took an active interest in his success. [more] Kraus spent one year – April 1777 to April 1778 – serving as a Hofmeister to the eighteen-year-old Count Archibald Nicolaus Gebhard von Keyserling (a second cousin to Count Heinrich Christian Keyserling [bio], in whose palace in Königsberg he was living), and Kraus continued to live in the Keyserling household even after his Hofmeister duties were over.
In a letter to his friend, von Auerswald, Kraus wrote (Saturday before Easter, 1777):
[…] I've been moved in with the Count Kaiserling since the 24th of April, where I've taken over the supervision of the son of the recently elevated Chamberlain Kaiserling, a youth of 18 1/2 years. [Voigt 1819, 61]
Seit dem 24sten April bin ich zum Grafen Kaiserling gezogen, wo ich über den Sohn des kürzlich in den Grafenstand erhobenen Kammerherrn Kaiserling, einen Jüngling von 18 1/2 Jahren die Aussicht übernommen habe.
In a letter of 27 May 1778 to his brother, Johann Michael (two years older than Christian), Kraus wrote:
My young count has become a soldier, leaving me already a month ago. I continue to live with my old Count Keyserling, however, where I have free room and board, am waited on, and live like a child in the house. [...] I will stay here for as long as I'm in Königsberg, even if I establish myself and become a Master or a Professor, I am permitted to stay. [Krause 1881, 79]
Mein iunge Graf ist Soldat geworden und hat mich schon vorigen Monat verlassen. Ich bin indessen noch immerfort bey meinem alten Graf Keyserling im Hause wo ich freye Station, Aufwartung, freye Tafel habe und wie ein Kind im Hause lebe. […] So lang ich in Königsberg bleibe, werde ich nimmer aus dem Keyserlingschen Haus kommen, und auch selbst wenn ich mich etablire und Magister oder Professor werde, dürfte ich da wohnen bleiben.
After his return to Königsberg as the Professor of Practical Philosophy (1781), Kraus became a regular at Kant’s table and a constant companion before their break in 1789 [Kuehn 2001, 331-34]. (In a letter to Marcus Herz, Kant described him as “one of my favorite and most capable students,” Oct. 20, 1778). While a student, he participated in various disputations, including the pro receptione for Johann Schultz (Aug. 2, 1775). Mendelssohn asked Kant, during his surprise visit to Königsberg (August 1777), whether Kraus (who was away at the time) would be interested in the professorship at Halle vacated by G. F. Meier’s death (Minister Zedlitz had asked Mendelssohn to propose someone) [Voigt 1819, 68-69]. [more]
Karl Morgenstern spent a week in Königsberg in October 1802 while on his way to accept a teaching post at the new university in Dorpat. He met with Kraus a number of times, describing him in his diary as “the man who combines so much foundational knowledge with so much wit, so much talent with so much unpretentiousness.”
Quoted in Stieda [1917, 198]:
”des Mannes, der soviel gründliches Wissen mit soviel Witz, so viel Talent mit so viel Anspruchlosigkeit vereinigt.”
Today he is best known as having been the first to introduce Adam Smith’s liberal economics into Germany (he devoted a set of lectures to the The Wealth of Nations in SS 1797, just after the German translation by Garve and Dörrien was published). His students included such future luminaries as President von Schön [bio], Minister von Schrötter, and Count Dohna-Wundlacken [bio]. [Sources: Baczko 1790, 625-26; Metzger 1804b, 65; Sembritzki 1907; Voigt 1819; Merkel 1827 [pdf] Reusch 1848, 22-24; Krause 1881; APB; NDB; Stark 1987b; Röttgers 1995] [last update: 3 Oct 2019]
1706 (Jan 24): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1714: Magister (Jena).
1716 (Nov 17): AR.
1717?: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1720: Deacon in the Cathedral (Kneipfhof).
Born (22 Oct 1693) and died (5 Jan 1730) in Königsberg. Selle [1956, 131] claims he was the first to bring Christian Wolff’s philosophy to Königsberg, and that he had even visited Leibniz in Hannover. He taught as a docent from 1717-20, and then as a chaplain. [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 54; Wotschke 1928, 20]
1762 (Sep 28): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1769 (Oct): Taught at the Altstadt Gymnasium.
1777 (SS): Full Prof. of Poetry (replaced Lindner).*
1779-84: 2nd Librarian, Royal Library (replaced C. D. Reusch).
Johann Gottlieb Kreutzfeld (also: Creutzfeld, Kreuzfeld), the son of a master tailor, was born 19 April 1745 in Königsberg, where he also died on 18 January 1784 of tuberculosis, not yet 39 years old.[1] He taught poetry at the university in Königsberg alongside Immanuel Kant, having first attended his lectures at the university as a student (matriculating 28 September 1762, the same semester as J. G. Herder), then teaching at a local high school – the Altstadt Gymnasium – beginning October 1769. He was appointed full professor of poetry (replacing Lindner) in 1776, and began teaching with the 1777 summer semester; Kant quite likely had a hand in his being offered the position. Both Kraus [bio] and Wasianski [bio] served as student respondents at Kreutzfeld’s pro receptione disputation on Feb. 25, 1777, and Kant was among the disputants at his his pro loco disputation (25 February 1777) – his inaugural address for the Poetry chair; Kreutzfeld’s address as well as Kant’s response have been preserved [writings].
Kreutzfeld replaced C. D. Reusch as assistant librarian at the Royal Library (in the castle) in 1779 – the same position held by Kant a decade earlier – and served in this capacity until his death. He was a friend of J. G. Hamann, wrote book reviews for the Königsberger gelehrter Zeitung, collected Lithuanian folk songs (or Dainos), and published poems in Voss's Musenalmanach, in Baczko's Preußische Tempe (Königsberg: J. J. Kanter, 1780-82), in the Preussische Blumenlesen (Königsberg: Hartung, 1781-82), and in Gesängen für das schöne Geschlecht, a publication of his close friend J. F. Reichardt, who set several of these poems to music. [Sources: Goldbeck 1781-83, ii.60; Goldbeck 1782, 85; Metzger 1804b, 52; Pisanski 1886, 493, 651, 675; Jöcher/Adelung 1810, vol. 3, col. 875; APB; Rehberg 1942, 113-17] [last update: 15 May 2010]
Select Publications:
De principiis fictionum generalioribus (Königsberg: Hartung, 1777). This, and Kant's Latin remarks, are printed in Kants gesammelte Schriften, vol. 15 (Berlin, 1913), pp. 903-35.
Dem Gedächtniß des hohen Königl. Preußischen Krönungsfestes weihete den 18. Jänner 1777 im Namen der Königsbergischen Universität zur Bezeugung ihrer Pflicht und Unterthänigkeit folgendes Gedicht (Königsberg: Hartung, 1777).
"Servare hominem quam gignere malo" in Drei Preisschriften über die Frage: Welches sind die besten ausführbarsten Mittel dem Kindermorde abzuhelfen, ohne die Unzucht zu begünstigen? (Mannheim: Schwan, 1784).
Eine Meynung über den alten Adel der alten Preussen, nebst einigen urkundlichen Beylagen (Königsberg, 1784).
[1] His last few years could not have been pleasant; Reichardt was already speaking of his imminent death in a letter to Kant written November 15, 1782 (AA 10: 292).
1805-9: Full Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics.
On his arrival in Königsberg, this notice from Der Freymüthige (29 Oct 1805, Nro. 216, p. 448): “Professor Krug aus Frankfurt an der Oder, der die Stelle des verewigten Kant auf hiesiger Universität erhalten hat, wird jetzt täglich erwartet; da er als Professor legens zu den diesmaligen halbjährigen Vorlesungen, die bereits angefangen haben, angekündigt ist.” (Königsberg, den 18ten Okt.)
See Leipzig.
1727 (Apr 10): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1734 (Jul 15): Magister (Jena).
1734 (Jul 18): AR.
1735: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1740: Pastor at Salfeld.
1747-48: Pastor at Friedland.
Born (Oct 10) in Königsberg.
1675 (Apr 17): Matriculation (Königsberg).
Lecturer in Philosophy.
1738 (Apr 15): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1744 (Mar 14): Magister (Halle).
1746 (May 14): AR, Assoc. Prof. of Oriental Languages.* (PR: 8/19)
1755: Full Prof. of Oriental Languages; inspector of the Königsberg synagogue (until 1777)[Altmann 1973, 307-9].*
Georg David Kypke was born (23 Oct 1724) Malter [1990, 44] gives his birth date as 1723. in Neukirchen (Pomerania), and died (28 May 1779) in Königsberg. He was the son of a pastor, and nephew to Johann David Kypke (see below). Born the same year as Kant, they also both attended the Collegium Fridericianum in Königsberg, then at the university, There is record of Kypke publicly defending (2 July 1743), under the physics professor Teske, an essay on the incomprehensibility of God’s infinite intellect. but it does not appear that Kypke belonged to Kant’s circle of friends at school. While discussing how Kant, David Ruhnken, and Johannes Cunde would read the classics together, Borowksi noted that “Kypke […] also joined in these private exercises, but only occasionally, since he did not quite fin in with them in their manners and way of thinking.” [1804, 162]
Kypke also studied at Halle under Siegmund Jacob Baumgarten [bio], who instilled in him a strong interest in English. He was friends with J. S. Semler [bio], who was also studying under Baumgarten, and lived in the house of Kriegsrath Michaelis. After receiving his Magister at Halle, he returned to Könïgsberg, lectured for only two years before receiving an appointment as associate professor of Oriental languages (1746), and also offered courses on English. In 1755, the year when Kant returned to Königsberg as a lecturer, Kypke was promoted to full professor, and also published an abridged translation of Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding (Hartung, 1755). This selection was published with a translation of Locke’s essay on miracles: Johann Lockens Anleitung des menschlichen Verstandes zur Erkentniss der Wahrheit, nebst desselben Abhandlung von den Wunderwerken (Königsberg: Johann Heinrich Hartung, 1755), 176 pp.
Kant lived with Kypke during these early years, Borowski writes that he had attended Kant’s first lectures in “Professor Kypke’s house in the Neustadt,” where Kant was living at the time [1804, 120, 185]. There are several ambiguities here. First, is the older Kypke intended (Johann David), or the younger (his nephew, Georg David). The older professor is more likely to have owned a home at the time, but Kant was a school friend to the younger. Also, Neustadt was another name for Löbenicht, and Vorländer understood this to be where Kant first rented a room [1924, 1: 82], while Gause understood Neustadt to mean the short east-west street in the northwest corner of the island [1996, 2: 250]. Using tax records (that have since been lost), Springer [1924, 13] claims that the Kypke’s lived not on Neustadt, but rather in a house owned by City Secretary Becker at “Kneiphof 366,” a block east of Neustadt on the north end of Reibnitzerstraße – so on the very north side of the island, between the Shopkeeper Bridge to the west and the Blacksmith Bridge to the east, likely with a view of the river. Finally, the 1756 Address-Calendar (p. 5) listing for George David Kypke, the ordinary professor of Oriental languages and the Inspector of Juden Schule” as living in Kneiphof on the Dohm-Gasse and that Johann David Kypke lived in Kneiphof on the Dohm-Gasse near the Honig-Gate. The Dohm-Gasse (or -Strasse) is the east-west road south of the cathedral and a block north of the Magister-Gasse, and the Honey Gate and bridge puts their house at the east end of that road). although this relationship appears to have weakened with time, perhaps as Kypke became more involved with his garden, out of which he sold vegetables. Wannowski mentions Kypke as one of Kant's close friends during his early years teaching at the university, along with Funk, the professor of law [Reicke 1860, 39]. Schlegel also notes that Kypke used Baumeister’s textbook on logic and metaphysics – a text initially used by Kant, but eventually abandoned as too simplistic – for 30 years [1790, 223n]. A longer biography of Kypke is also available. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, 2: 426; Semler 1781, 78; Pisanski 1886, 637; APB; Altmann 1973, 307-9] [last update: 23 Aug 2024]
1712 (Aug 30): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1718-24: Teacher at the Collegium Fridericianum.
1723 (Apr 2): Magister; Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1725/26 (WS): Assoc. Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics.
1727: Full Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics.* (PL: Oct 16)
1732: 6th Full Prof. of Theology.
1733 (Jul 23): Dr. of Theology (Königsberg); 5th Full Prof. of Theology.
1745: 4th Full Prof. of Theology.
Also: Kipke. Born (Feb 8) in Neukirchen (Pomerania), died (Dec 10) in Königsberg. He was the son of a pastor and an uncle to Georg David Kypke (above).[1] Attended the gymnasium in Stettin. In 1730 he married a sister of Professor Arnoldt. Kant applied for this chair at Kypke’s death, but the Academic Senate gave the post to Johann Friedrich Buck, who had served as a Lecturer longer than Kant.[2] He was rector four times, and in 1753 served as dean of both the philosophy and the theology faculties. A longer biography of Kypke is also available. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.190,192-3, 433; Arnoldt 1769, 17; Goldbeck 1782, 210; Bornhak 1900, 112; APB] [last update: 16 Jul 2017]
[1] The Academy edition mistakenly lists J. D. Kypke as the father of G. D. Kypke.
[2] Six professors applied for Kypke’s position: Bock, Flottwell, Hahn, Kant, Thiesen, and Watson. Only Bock and Kant’s names were forwarded to St. Petersburg for final selection. Flottwell was a full prof. of rhetoric, Hahn a full prof. of oriental languages, and Gottfried Thiesen a full prof. of medicine (1730-75).
1706 (Sep 25): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1712 (Jul 13): Magister (Jena).
1714 (Sep 24): AR.
1715: Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).* (PR: 5/3)
1716: Assoc. Prof. of Mathematics.*
1717 (Nov 2): Dr. of Theology.
1718: Assoc. Prof. of Theology.*
1719-65: Full Prof. of Mathematics, and inspector of the Alumnat (replacing Blaesing).*
1719 (Nov 29): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
1721 (Oct 20): 3rd Court chaplain.
1725: 5th Full Prof. of Theology.*
1732-65: 2nd Full Prof. of Theology.
1753: 2nd court chaplain (under Quandt); consistory advisor.
Christoph Langhansen was born (9 Nov 1691) and died (14 Mar 1770) in Königsberg. He was a son-in-law of Heinrich Lysius [bio] and a proponent of Pietism [glossary]; not to be confused with his father, Christian (1660-1727),[1] who was also a mathematician and theologian (and pastor and teacher at the Altstadt school), but a declared enemy of Pietism.
Served as rector five times. It was because of his death that Kant was able to procure his position as full professor by suggesting that either Christiani (a brother-in-law to Langhansen) give up his chair of Practical Philosophy or that Buck give up his chair of Logic and Metaphysics, and assume the vacated chair of Mathematics. The government in Berlin chose the latter course. Kant wrote a memorial verse in his honor: “Dem, der die äuß’re Welt nach Maaß und Zahl verstand, / Ist, was sich uns verbirgt, das Inn’re dort bekannt. / Was stolze Wissenschaft umsonst hier will erwerben, / Lernt weise Einfalt dort im Augenblick: durch’s Sterben” (AA 12:395). Hagelgans [1737] lists Langhansen as Full Prof. of Theology, of Mathematics, and as Collegii Inspector. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.379, 419, 468; Arnoldt 1777, 10, 14-15; Pisanski 1886, 259; Gause 1996, ii.247; APB; NDB] [last update: 21 May 2007]
[1] The father died on 19 Feb 1727, after suffering a stroke in August 1725 [Arnoldt 1777, 35]
1725: Dr. of Law (Erfurt).
Born (Jun 15) in Königsberg, died (February) in Altona. Studied in Königsberg and Halle (where he studied under Buddeus and Thomasius); traveled several years in Holland (1695-98), England, and France; served as the Furstlicher Curländischer Staatsrath and Cabinetsdirector, which ended in 1711 with the death of the Herzog.
Lau published anonymously a short Spinozistic book – Meditationes Philosophicae de Deo, Mundo, Homine ([Frankfurt/Main]: 1717, no place or publisher indicated) – which was instantly condemned by the local pastors and publicly burned, and led to Lau’s brief incarceration. He eventually returned to Königsberg, but is presented by Arnoldt as having not served at the university, which is plausible given Lau’s notoreity as an “atheist” following the affair in Frankfurt. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, 2: 523-6; Israel 652-54]
1703 (Jul 16): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1713 (Apr 20): Magister (Königsberg).
1713: Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1717: Pastor in Cauen (Lithuania).
1722: Deacon in Tilsit.
Also: Laudin. Born (Jul 17) in Neuhausen (in Pr.), died in Tilsit (Oct 3). [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 159; Arnoldt 1777, 141]
1794: Teacher at Collegium Fridericianum.
1798: Dr. of Philosophy; Lecturer (WS 1798/99).
1800: Assoc. Prof. of Philosophy (Königsberg).
1802: Director of the Cathedral school.
1818: Retired.
Born (possibly in 1764) in Reetz (in the Neumark), died in Königsberg; son of a pastor. Attended the Pädagogium and the university in Halle, receiving the magister degree. Matriculated at the Albertina in 1794 (Mar 21), presumably as a teacher at the Collegium Fridericianum. Promoted to Dr. of Philosophy at Königsberg and begins teaching as a lecturer (WS 1798/99), later promoted to Assoc. Prof. His course offerings were routinely based on Kant’s texts, perhaps more so than anyone else at the university at that time (Pörschke, Jäsche, Rink, and the theology professor J. E. Schulz were others teaching Kant’s new philosophy during the 1790s at Königsberg). Hartung gives his death-year as 1822. [Sources: APB; Metzger 1804b, 69; Hartung 1825, 265] [last update: 28 May 2007]
1736: Advokat & Notar (Königsberg).
1740: Hofgerichtsadvokat.
1743: Kriegsrat.
1744: Prof. of Law (Königsberg); City Advisor.
1750: 4th Full Prof. of Law (Königsberg).
1751: 3rd Full Prof. of Law (Königsberg).
1765: 2nd Full Prof. of Law (Königsberg).
1771: 1st Full Prof. of Law and Chancellor of the University (Königsberg).
Johann Ludwig von L’Estocq was born (1712) in Aftinten (Preussen), and died (1 Feb 1779) in Königsberg. He was the son of a military officer. He studied in Halle, became a Professor of Law at Könïgsberg, then finally Chancellor of the University once he assumed the first chair of law. A devotee of good music. First classes listed in the Catalog: SS 1747. Gause offers a story of Johann Georg Scheffner [bio], in later life a good friend of Kant’s, who as a student at the university at first avoided Kant’s lectures because he was staying with L’Estocq, who advised Scheffner to avoid Kant because he thought so little of music (“der sich aus Musik nichts machte”). Kant’s relationship with music must have been widely understood; when Borowski was asked whether Kant was musical, he replied: “Certainly not.”
Kant wrote a memorial verse in honor of L’Estocq:
Der Weltlauf schildert sich so jedem Auge ab,
Wie ihn der Spiegel malt, den die Natur ihm gab.
Dem scheint's ein Gaukelspiel zum Lachen, dem zum Weinen,
Der lebt nur zum Genuß, der Andre nur zum Scheinen.
Gleich blinde Thorheit gafft einander spöttisch an;
Der tandelt bis ins Grab, der schwärmt im finstern Wahn.
Wird eine Regel nur dem Herzen nicht entrissen:
Sei menschlich, redlich, treu und schuldfrei im Gewissen!
(So lautet L’Estocq's Lob!) das Andre ist nur Spiel,
Denn Mensch und weise sein ist Sterblichen zu viel! (AA 12:396)
[Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 49; Reicke 1860, 34; APB; Gause 1996, 2: 259] [last update: 25 Feb 2007]
Mich. Lilienthal
1700 (Jul 19): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1706 (Oct 21): Magister (Jena).
1711 (Jul 6): AR
1711 (Dec 2): PR, Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1711 (Jan 25): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
1713: 2nd inspector of the Alumnat (replacing Boese).
1714-15: 2nd Librarian, Royal Library.
1715: Deacon at the Cathedral (Kneiphof).
1719: Pastor at the Altstadt Church.
1726-50: 1st Librarian, City Library (replaced G. S. Bayer).
1733: Honorary professor at St. Petersburg.
Michael Lilienthal was born (8 Sep 1686) in Liebstadt, and died (23 Jan 1750)[1] in Königsberg; he was the son of a landed nobleman. Married Kant’s parents (Johann Georg Kant and Anna Regina Reuterin) on 13 November 1715 in the Cathedral. While city librarian, he purchased an overwhelming number of pietist-influenced books; but he also facilitated the wider public use of the library. Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences and honorary professor of the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. Never received a professorship at Königsberg. Hagelgans [1737] lists him as “Theol. & Phil. Prof. Academ. Petropol. & Berolin. socius.” A longer biography of Lilienthal is also available. His engraving by Wolfgang Ph. Kilian (shown here) is the frontispiece of his Acta Borussica, vol. 3, 6th issue (1732), and reproduced in Schmidtke. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, 1: 347; Arnoldt 1777, 41; Pisanski 1886, 492-93; APB; ADB; Klemme 1994, 4; Schmidtke 1997, 75] [last update: 21 May 2007]
[1] Arnoldt [1777, 41] claims 20 Jan 1750.
1730 (Jun 25): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1736: Moved to Jena.
1736-40: Travels in England.
1737 (Mar 13): Magister (Jena).
1740 (Jul 23): AR, Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1744: Doctor (Aug 31) and Assoc. Prof. of Theology;* 2nd inspector of the Alumnat (replacing Danovius).
1746: Pastor at the Neuroßgarten Church.
1750-82: 1st Librarian, City Library (replaced his father, Michael Lilienthal).
1751: 7th Full Prof. of Theology.
1759: 5th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1763: 1st Pastor at the Cathedral.
1769: 4th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1772: 2nd Full Prof. of Theology (replacing Arnoldt).
1776: 1st Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
Theodor Christoph Lilienthal was born (8 October 1717) and died (7 March 1781) in Königsberg; son of Michael Lilienthal (see above). Served as rector three times. He taught reformation church history, but especially dogmatics. Herder studied under him, and on his passing wrote that “the Academy suffered a great loss; Germany does not have many Lilienthals.”[2] Kant wrote a brief verse on the occasion of his death.[3] Metzger remembers him as an exceptionally learned theologian and mild-mannered in temperament, never taking part in doctrinal controversies. Strodtmann [1753, 314-30] provides an annotated bibliography of his writings. [Sources: Strodtmann 1753, 307-30; Arnoldt 1746, 1: 348; Arnoldt 1769, 31-3; Arnoldt 1777, 45, 50; Metzger 1804b, 35-6; Rhesa 1834, 15; APB; ADB; Wotschke 1929/30, 58] [last update: 9 Jan 2023]
[1] Malter [1990, 65] and the AA ed. puts his life-years at 1712-1782, and Rhesa [1834, 15] gives his death date as 17 March 1782. Arnoldt gives the birth date as 8 Oct 1717; I follow Arnoldt and ADB.
[2] Arnold/Dobbek, Briefe Gesamtausgabe; on Herder's professors, see vol. 1, letter #41 (to I. J. von Essen, Jan/Feb 1768); on Lilienthal’s death, see vol. 4, letter #221 (to J. G. Hamann, Jul 1782).
[3] “Was auf das Leben folgt, deckt tiefe Finsterniß; / Was uns zu thun gebührt, des sind wir nur gewiß. / Dem kann, wie Lilienthal, kein Tod die Hofnung rauben, / Der glaubt um recht zu thun, recht thut um froh zu glauben” (AA 12:397).
1736-44: Attended the Collegium Fridericianum.
1744 (Sep 26): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1748-50: Teacher at Collegium Fridericianum.
1750 (Apr 14): Magister (Königsberg).
1750: Lecturer in Philosophy.
1752/55: Conrector/Rector and Inspector of the Cathedral School (Riga).
1765 (Jun 12): AR, Full Prof. of Poetry.* (PL: 7/11)
1772 (Oct 30): 3rd court chaplain; Director of the German Society.
1773 (Oct 21): Doctor and Assoc. Prof. of Theology.*[1]
1775: Kirchen- and Schulrat; Pastor at Löbenicht.
Also: Gotthilf. Johann Gotthelf Lindner was born (11 Sep 1729) in Schmolsin (by Stolp, in Pommern), and died (29 Mar 1776) in Königsberg; he was the son of a pastor. Attended the Collegium Fridericianum, then the Albertina, and taught for a few years at the former, then at the Kneiphof (Cathedral) School, end eventually moved to Riga where he spent ten years as the rector at that school. In 1765 he returned to Königsberg to teach at the university (1st semester in the Catalog: SS 1763 [!], and then SS 1765, etc.). Lindner’s application for the inspector’s position at the Collegium Fridericianum was supported by the government, but D. H. Arnoldt managed to block it in favor of Christoph Samuel Domsien. Lindner was a friend of Kant’s (from student days) and Hamann’s, and eventually the latter’s confessor. [letters: 10, 12, 13, 16, ++; see AA 13:652] [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 15; ADB; Klemme 1994, 29-30] [last update: 21 May 2007]
Select Publications:
Anweisung zur guten Schreibart überhaupt und zur Beredsamkeit (Königsberg 1755).
Kurzer Inbegriff der Aesthetik, Redekunst und Dichtkunst (Königsberg 1771-72).
[1] Arnoldt [1777, 15] gives his promotion date as October 28.
1699 (Mar 10): Matriculation (Königsberg).
Lecturer in Philosophy.
Heinr. Lysius
1688: Matriculated at Leipzig.
1689 (spring): An illness causes Lysius to return home.
1690: Studies at Königsberg one year. (not in Erler)
1694: Begins studies in Halle.
1696: Marries Gertrud Paulsen (Flensburg).
1702 (Nov 4): Dr. of Theology (Halle).
1702 (Nov 30): Matriculated as Assoc. Prof. of Theology (at the Albertina) and as Director (until 1729) and Inspector of the Collegium Fridericianum (inaugural sermon: 19 Aug 1702).
1709 (Nov 14): 3rd Prof. of Theology.[1]
1715: 3rd court chaplain at the Castle Church; consistory advisor.
1718: Inspector of schools and churches in Lithuania; 2nd Prof. of Theology.
1721: 1st Prof. of Theology; pastor in the Lobenicht Church.
Heinrich Lysius was born (24 Oct 1670) in Flensburg, and died (16 Oct 1731) in Königsberg. He was the son of a pastor. Studied at Jena, Leipzig, Königsberg, and Halle. A fiery, irascible Pietist whom Spener brought to Königsberg to serve as the first director of the Collegium Fridericianum, raising its enrollment to 400 pupils. He also taught theology at the university and served as chaplain in the Löbenicht Church. He made enemies throughout the university, and was suspected by the Aristotelians of being a Cartesian and Copernican. A Royal order was required before the theology faculty allowed him to lecture as an associate professor. His engraving (shown here) is the frontispiece of Lilienthal’s Acta Borussica, vol. 3, 1st issue (1732). [Sources: Lilienthal 1731, 2: 946; 1732, 3: 52-67; Arnoldt 1777, 14, 60; Goldbeck 1782, 204-9; NDB; Klemme 1994, 15-20] [last update: 1 Jun 2011]
[1] Arnoldt claims he matriculated in Königsberg in 1701, was promoted to Dr. of Thelogy (in Halle) on 4 Nov 1702, and became the 4th Prof. in 1709 [1746, 2: 213]. Pisanski claims he was lecturing in theology from 1701-31 [1886, 565]; but see Lilienthal [1732, 3: 58].
1718 (Sep 19): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1725 (Jun 11): Magister (Halle).
1726 (Aug 8)-1736 (SS): AR, Assoc. Prof. of Oriental Languages.
1727: Inspector of the synagogue.
1729: Inspector of the Löbenicht church.
1730 (Jun 22): Dr. of Theology (Königsberg) and Assoc. Prof. of Theology.
1730, 1731: Adjunct, then Consistory Advisor.
1732: 5th Full Prof. of Theology.
1733: 4th Full Prof. of Theology.
Johann Heinrich Lysius was born (29 Jun 1704) and died (29 Mar 1745)[1] in Königsberg; he was the son of Heinrich Lysius (see above). He gave up his associate professorship of oriental languages once he became a full professor of theology (with the WS 1732/33). [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.189-90, 219, 422; Arnoldt 1777, 61; Pisanski 1886, 637; Erler, ii.328] [last update: 23 May 2007]
[1] Arnoldt [1777, 61] gives the death date as 28 March 1745.
[2] Did he have a brother, Johann Christoph, teaching law at Königsberg? Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999] shows a Johann Christoph (or Christian) Lysius (1708-1740) teaching in the law faculty WS 1737/38-WS 1739/40. The Matrikel shows a Joh. Christ. Lysius of Königsberg matriculating on 8 October 1724; Heinrich Lysius was rector at the time.
1770: Magister (Leipzig [Baczko: “Halle”]).
1777: Lecturer (Halle).
1782: Full Prof. of Rhetoric and History (Königsberg).
1784: Full Prof. of Poetry (in addition to History) (Königsberg).
Born (16 May 1748) in Dresden, died (1802) in Königsberg. He studied in Leipzig, received his Magister at either Leipzig or Halle (1770), then taught in Dessau at Basedow’s Philanthropinum, also translating Basedow’s Elementarwerk into Latin. He began lecturing in Halle (1777), and then accepted the position of Professor of Rhetoric and History at Königsberg (1782). He also served as censor for the theater.
Kant met him shortly after his arrival in Königsberg,
Kant recounts this meeting in a letter to Reichardt (22 Oct 1782):
“Professor Mangelsdorff arrived two evenings ago, and yesterday at lunch, at the table of Oberburggraf von Rohd, I made his personal acquaintance for the first time (we had already come into contact by mail, as I was helping him with some matters)” [AA 10: 290].
at a dinner hosted by Oberburggrafen Jakob Friedrich von Rohd, and Kant loaned Mangelsdorff various household necessities until his belongings arrived by ship. Kant tried unsuccessfully to talk him into moving into his house and opening a pension for school children, in the hopes of furthering school reform in Prussia. Mangelsdorff’s arrival in Königsberg was attended by some controversy regarding his payment: see Kant’s letter to Reichardt (22 October 1782) and Reichardt’s reply (Nov. 15). See also Mangelsdorff’s letter to Kant (Oct. 15, 1782) [NB. his comments on teaching]. He arrived in Königsberg on October 20, and hoped to begin lecturing on Monday, Nov. 4 (a good month into the semester).
Rink mentions that Mangelsdorff stopped by Kant’s house at around noon and asked if he might stay for lunch; Kant refused him;
Rink [1805, 92-93]:
“if someone who had not been expressly invited [to lunch] paid him a visit at that time and asked to join the lunch party, as the late Professor Mangelsdorff [93] once did, he would grow flustered and flatly refuse the request.”
Kant also attributed Mangelsdorff’s early death – which he noted in his little “lunch diary” – to his beer drinking.
This is the Mittagbüchlein reproduced in Degering [1926] which has entries from 17 August – 25 September 1802. Kant’s entry for 14 September reads:
“Mangelsdorff 1748 geboren 48 Jahr an gestorben”
Wasianski comments on this on the last page of this diary:
The early death of Prof. Mangelsdorff, mentioned under 14 September, points to Kant’s opinion of the detrimental consequences of drinking beer, as do the quoted passages of the drinking song: ‘Mihi est propositum [in taberna mori].’
Metzger notes that he had 12 children, and that his “not entirely regular diet” likely contributed to his early death. Abegg interacted with him while visiting Königsberg in 1798 and noted in his diary that “he seems to be a very thoughtful, free-minded, but coarse man who, as is known here, is very devoted to drink and occasionally takes a walk to the brothel.” [Sources: Baczko 1790, 626-29 (bibliography); Metzger 1804b, 53; APB; Gause 1996, 2: 241, 260; Abegg 1976, 160]
Select Publications:
Versuch einer Darstellung dessen, was seit Jahrtausenden im Betreff des Erziehungswesens gesagt und gethan worden ist, nebst einer freyen Beurtheilung der Basedowischen Anstalten und anderer dahin gehörigen Materien (Leipzig, 1779), xiv, 442 pp.
Entdeckung von Amerika (Halle, 1780).
Entwurf der neuen europäischen Staatengeschichte zum Gebrauch akademischer Vorlesungen (Halle: Waisenhaus, 1780), 272 pp.
Allgemeine Geschichte der europäischen Staaten, ein durchaus verständliches Lesebuch zur nützlichen Unterhaltung (Halle: J. G. Heller, 1790-).
Versuch einer kurzen aber nicht mangelhaften Darstellung der Teutschen Geschichte für gebildete Leser (Leipzig, 1799).
1711: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1718: Studying in Halle.
1720: Magister (Jena).
1722: Lecturer in Mathematics (Königsberg).*
1730/31 (WS): Assoc. Prof. of Mathematics (Königsberg).*
Born (Oct 20) in Dollstädt (Kreis Pr. Eylau), died (Feb 17) in Königsberg; the son of a pastor. Studied theology, languages, and mathematics in Königsberg and philosophy in Halle and in Jena. Became a Wolffian in Halle, and wrote a dissertation supporting pre-established harmony (De harmonia praestabilita inter animam et corpus, Königsberg, 1722). His lectures on logic and metaphysics were quite popular, and he still taught theology, philosophy, and mathematics when Kant studied at the university. The only textbook found in Kant’s library that stems from his student years was Marquardt’s book on astronomy. The rise of Pietism at the university ended his career. Hagelgans [1737] inadvertently lists him as Full Prof. of Mathematics. [Sources: Ludovici 1735, i.344, 364; Meusel; APB; NDB; Selle 1956, 132; Wotschke 1928, 79]
1690: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1700 (Apr 15): Magister.
1703: 2nd inspector of the Alumnat (replacing Segers).
1708: Consistory advisor & pastor, Löbenicht Church.
1710 (Feb 27): Dr. of Theology; Assoc. Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1717: 4th Full Prof. of Theology; pastor at the Cathedral (Kneiphof).
1721: 2nd Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1732: 1st Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
Also: Mascov. Born (6 Mar 1673) and died (7 Aug 1732) in Königsberg; the son of Thomas Masecovius (1630-1696), the pastor of the Tragheim Church. Served three times as rector. Referred to as a rather impatient opponent of Pietism [glossary]; brother-in-law to Michael Schreiber [bio], a professor of rhetoric. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, i.347; ii.432; Arnoldt 1777, 49, 60; APB; Gause 1996, ii.120]
1702: Prorector at the Löbenicht School (Königsberg).
1704 (Sep 18): Magister (Königsberg).
1705: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1706: Assistant Deacon, Tragheim Church.
1710: Pastor, Royal Hospital.
Also: Mascov. Born in Friedenberg (Pr.), died (Feb 28) in Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 165-66; Arnoldt 1777, 19; Pisanski, 1886, 524] [last update: 21 May 2007]
1720 (Feb 10): Magister (Leipzig).
1723: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1726-29: 2nd Librarian, City Library.
1729: Adjunct Deacon at the Löbenicht Church.
1734: Deacon at the Löbenicht Church.
Also: Mekelburg. Born and died (29 Aug 1770) in Königsberg, “in his 74th year.” Included in Ludovici’s list of Wolffians, he wrote De habitu theologia naturalis ad virtutem (Königsberg, 1723 [March 17]). [Sources: Ludovici 1735, i.344, 367; Arnoldt; Arnoldt 1777 Pisanski 1886, 498] [last update: 23 May 2007]
1718: Commisions Secretary (Königsberg).
1722: Dr. of Law.
Born (Sep 21) and died (June) in Königsberg. Lecturer in Philosophy. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 109; Meusel]
1714: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1720: Dr. of Medicine.
1722: Assoc. Prof. of Medicine?
1728: 4th Full Prof. of Medicine.
1737: Court and consistory advisor.
1741: 3rd Full Prof. of Medicine.
Born in Medenau (Kreis Fischhausen), died in Königsberg; the son of a pastor. Father-in-law to Christoph Gottlieb Büttner [bio]. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.318-19; Pisanski 1886, 614; APB]
1770: Dr. of Medicine; Lecturer of Medicine (Strassburg).
1777: Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1785: 2nd Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1788: 1st Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
Born in Strassburg 7 Feb 1739), died in Königsberg (16 Sep 1805). Studied in Strassburg. Studied in Königsberg and attended Kant’s lectures (although he does not appear in the Matrikel – perhaps under a Latin variant?). He would have joined the Academic Senate in 1785 (when he became the 2nd Professor in the Medical Faculty), where Kant had been a permament member since 1780.
Metzger was a gifted professor, especially interested in the history of medicine. Strong critic of Brownian medicine, of Gall’s theories, and of Mesmerism. Also a critic of Kant on several occasions. Metzger, as rector, appears to have been the moving force to retire Kant from the senate. He published (anonymously) the first biography of Kant after his death, as well as a report on the university [1804]. [See also Kant’s letter to Metzger (Dec. 31, 1782).] [On his relationship to Kant, see Altpr. M. Schr. 46, 618.] [Sources: Baczko 1790, 629-31 (bibliography); Metzger 1804b, 61-62; Hartung 1825, 266; APB; Gause 1996, 2: 238, 254; ADB; ]
Select Publications:
Kurzgefaßtes System der gerichtlichen Arzneywissenschaft, 2nd improved ed. (Königsberg, Leipzig: Hartung, 1798), xvi, 445 pp.
Unterricht in der Wundarzneykunst, zum akademischen Gebrauch entworfen (Königsberg: Hartung, 1798), xvi, 472 pp.
Kurzer Inbegriff der Lehre von der Lustseuche, zum Behuf akad. Vorlesungen (Königsberg: Göbbels u. Unzer, 1800), xvi, 228 pp.
Ueber die Krankheiten sämmtlicher zur Oekonomie gehörigen Hausthiere, ein zum Behuf akademischer Vorlesungen bestimmtes Handbuch (Königsberg: Göbbels und Unzer, 1802), xvi, 184 pp.
Über den menschlichen Kopf in anthropologischer Rücksicht, nebst einigen Bemerkungen über Dr. Galls Hirn- und Schädeltheorie (Königsberg: Goebbels und Unzer, 1803), 133 pp.
(anon.), Über die Universität zu Königsberg. Ein Nachtrag zu Arnoldt und Goldbeck (Königsberg: Gottlieb Lebrecht Hering, 1804), 94 pp.
(anon.), Aeusserungen über Kant, seinen Charakter und seine Meinungen ((no location) 1804), 48 pp.
Lehrsätze zu einer empirischen Psychologie (Königsberg: Goebbels und Unzer, 1805), x, 148 pp.
1719: Assoc. Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics.*
Not listed in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999], nor is he in Arnoldt’s (1746) list of Associate Professors, although Arnoldt does mention a Johann Meyer from Augsburg who served as the first Lutheran pastor at the Orphanage beginning in 1705, assuming a pastorate in Juditten in 1715, where he died (Nov 27) in 1737 (1756, 167).
1745: Lecturer in Philosophy.* (PR: 2/10)
From Domnau. Moved to Frankfurt/Oder where he served as a pastor. [Sources: Pisanski 1886, 707]
1721-24: Student at the Collegium Fridericianum.
1727: Matriculation at the university (Königsberg).
1730-33: 2nd Inspector of the Coll. Frid, under Schiffert.
1733: Deacon (Kreutzberg).
1737: Deacon at the Sackheim Church (Königsberg).
1744: Dr. of Theology (Aug 31); Assoc. Prof. of Theology.
1748: Church advisor.
1756-63: Librarian, Wallenrodt Library (replaced J. F. Werner).
1764: 6th Full Prof. of Theology.
1765: Pastor and Lector secundus at the Cathedral (Hamburg).
Also: Moldenhawer. Born (10/29) in Halle; died (4/8) in Hamburg. He had collected the largest private library in Königsberg, only to have it destroyed in the fire of 11 November 1764, along with various manuscripts of his own writing. Shortly after that he requested a pastoral appointment in Hamburg, and so never assumed the full professorship in theology, although he appears in the lecture catalog as such for WS 64/65 and SS 65. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.222-3; Arnoldt 1756, 44; Arnoldt 1769, 33, 36-7; Pisanski 1886, 511; ADB; Klemme 1994, 5]
1720: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1724/25 (WS): Assoc. Prof. of Literary History.
Also: Neufeld. Neufeldt occupied a temporary chair in the philosophy faculty. G. F. Rogall, who himself just arrived in Königsberg from Halle, describes Neufeldt in a letter of Sept. 18, 1724, who had just held his inaugural disputation. Neufeldt is a miserable incompetent, Rogall writes, who studied little and has relied on the money left him by his father, a pastor. He is widely known as a lascivious drunk (homo sceleratissimus ebrietati et lasciviae deditus), who often had to appear before the rector on account of his behavior. He’s lived here for several years with his title of Magister, having done nothing, but then desired to marry the widow of a professor of medicine [who?], who would take him only if he were a professor. So he bought himself a chair, actually paying the university for the privilege to teach as a Professor historiae litterariae extraordinarius; and because it took place in the philosophy faculty, Lysius wasn’t able to prevent it happening. Thus Rogall’s account. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Wotschke 1928]
1698: Matriculation (Königsberg) to study law.
1708: Dr. of Law (Halle).
1708: Returned to Königsberg to work in a private practice.
1709: Assoc. Prof. of Law.
1722: Hofhalsgerichtsbeisitzer and Commercienrat.
1724: Stadtrat.
1726: Tribunalsrat.
1733: Full Prof. of Law.
1741: Mayor of Königsberg.
Born and died in Königsberg; the son of a government court official. Attended the Löbenicht School, studied law in Königsberg and Halle. Besides teaching, Nicolai served in various important capacities in the administration of the city, including mayor. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; APB; NDB]
1723 (Apr 2): Magister; Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1724: Army chaplain.
1731: Pastor in Bladiau.
Born in Cremitten, died (May 14) in Bladiau. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 112; Arnoldt 1777, 210; Pisanski 1886, 542]
????: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1765 (Sep 3): Magister.
1765 (Nov 23): PR.
1766: Professor at the Ritterakademie (Warsaw).
Martin Nikuta was born (1741) in Schaufelsdorf (by Paßenheim). While a student he participated in J. G. Lindner’s pro loco disputation (July 11, 1765). His magister thesis was on De harmonia appetitus sensitivi et rationalis.
Nikuta had aspired for the position of Assistant Librarian at the Royal Library (in the fall of 1765), and was assisting the current, but ailing, Assistant Librarian (Johann Goraisky); but this was given to Kant (April 1766), which likely precipitated Nikuta’s departure for Warsaw, as he had no other means of support in Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 148; Pisanski 1886, 707; Goldbeck 1781-83, 182-83, 240; Warda 1899b] [last update: 18 Sep 2012]
Select Publications:
D. de harmonia appetitus sensitivi et rationalis (Königsberg, 1765).
1704 (Sep 18): Magister (Königsberg).
1704: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1715: Assoc. Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics.*
Born (Oct 27) in Colberg (Pomerania), died (Mar 14) in Königsberg. He lectured from Wolff’s German Logic (SS 1720). Pisanski lists him as an Aristotelian. He endowed (1666 rthlr. 60 gr.) a scholarship for students at Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.15-16, 418-19; Pisanski 1886, 523]
1730 (Sep 21): Matriculation in Königsberg, studying law.
1740: Dr. of Law (Halle).
1740 (Aug 10): Matriculation in Königsberg, to teach law.
1741-51: Assoc. Prof. of Law (Königsberg) and Hofhalsgerichtsassessor.
1747: Hofgerichtsrat.
1757: Court Advisor; later Privy Legal Advisor.
Born and died in Königsberg; the son of a government official. [Sources: Erler 1911-12, 2: 342, 385; APB]
1753 (Mar 5): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1761 (Mar 12): Dr. of Medicine (Königsberg), and 5th Full Prof. of Medicine.
Born (31 Dec 1735) in Vilnius, died (28 Feb 1788) in Königsberg. Son of the physician Georg Andreas Orlovius (who received his Dr. Med. in 1718 in Königsberg). His [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 42; Metzger 1804b, 40-1; Hagen 1850a, 54, 58]
1706: Magister (Frankfurt/Oder).
1706: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1709: Pastor (Carwinden).
1712-45: Consistory of Pomerania and Bishop [Erzpriest] of Saalfeld. [Sources: Pisanski 1886, 597]
1705: Matriculation (Königsberg) to study medicine.
1713 (April): Magister (Frankfurt/Oder).
1715: Returns to Königsberg.
1717 (Nov 11): Magister (Königsberg).
1718: Full Prof. of Poetry.*
1719: Hofrat and Leibmedicus.
Born and died in Königsberg; the son of an important pharmacist. He studied medicine at the university and began a medical practice in Königsberg. After writing a poem on the occasion of the victory of Prince Eugen, however, he received such acclaim that he was offered the Professorship of Poetry in 1717, which he accepted, and continued to practice medicine alongside his teaching. Johann Christoph Gottsched [bio] was his most famous pupil and revered him his life long. Pietsch was succeeded by J. G. Bock [bio], who published his poems in 1740. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.404, 433; APB; NDB] [last update: 5 May 2007]
1742: Matriculation (Königsberg) to study theology, philosophy, and natural science.
1748: Taught at the Altstadt School.
1750: Conrector, then prorector (1751), at the Altstadt School.
1759: Rector of the Cathedral School (replacing C. C. Flottwell).
1759 (Apr 9): Magister; Lecturer in Philosophy, History, and Rhetoric.*
1773 (Nov 25): Dr. of Theology, and Assoc. Prof. of Theology.
1789: Consistory advisor.
Born (Aug 13) in Johannisburg, died (Oct 11) in Königsberg. He was the son of a chaplain. A prolific writer, his Preußische Literärgeschichte (edited by Rudolf Philippi, Königsberg 1886) is a tour de force of cultural history; it arose out of four academic disputations (held 1762-5), and also served as the basis of a course of lectures; publ. in full in 1790. A longer biography of Pisanski is also available. [Sources: Baczko 1790, 633-41 (bibliography); APB; ADB; Pisanski 1886, viii-xx, 475, 565]
1733 (SS): Professor of Law.
Hagelgans [1737] lists him as Full Prof. of Law.
1768 (Sep 24): Matriculated at Königsberg.
1785: Studied at Halle and Göttingen.
1787: Magister (Königsberg), and Lecturer in Philosophy.*[1] (PR: 4/13)
1794 (Nov 25): Assoc. Prof. of Philosophy (Königsberg).
1803 (May 27): Full Prof. of Poetry (Königsberg).
1806: Full Prof. of Pedagogy and History (in addition to poetry).
1809: Full Prof. of Practical Philosophy.
Karl Ludwig Pörschke was born (10 Jan 1752)[2] in Molsehen (Kreis Königsberg) and died (24 Sep 1812) in Königsberg. He was a student[3] and later close colleague of Kant’s, and a professor of considerable ability and wide-ranging interests. His most significant writings are on aesthetics, and in general they show strong Kantian influences yet with a certain distance from Kant, and in later years he came to admire Fichte’s work.
Pörschke attended the Collegium Fridericianum before his university studies at Königsberg, Halle, and Göttingen. He returned to Königsberg in 1787 and began lecturing. Arnoldt reports that he lectured on the Critique of Pure Reason in 1795 [1908-9, 5: 326]. A longer biography of Pörschke is also available. [Sources: APB; NDB; Hartung 1825, 266; Erler 1911, 2: 509] [last update: 27 May 2007]
[1] Arnoldt begins his lectureship with SS 1788 [1908-9, iv.432]. Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999] show him first listed in the Catalog for WS 1787/88, and offering public lectures (primarily on Greek texts) as an associate professorship beginning with SS 1795.
[2] The academy edition gives 1751 as his birth-year.
[3] Vorländer [1924, ii.300] claims that he attended Kant’s logic lectures six times, and the metaphysics lectures five times.
1701: Matriculation (Königsberg), studying philosophy and theology.
1706: Moved to Leipzig.
1707 (Feb 10): Magister (Leipzig).
1710: Lecturer in Philosophy (philology) (Königsberg).*
1714: Studied in Jena.
1715: Dr. of Theology (Rostock).
1714-18: 1st Librarian, City Library.
1716: Assoc. Prof. of Theology.[1]
1717: Pastor in Löbenicht church. [Arnoldt 1746, ii.217: consistory advisor and pastor =1718]
1721: 4th Full Prof. of Theology; 1st court chaplain at the Castle Church.
1733: 1st Full Prof. of Theology.
1736: General superintendant.
Johann Jakob Quandt was born (27 Mar 1686) and died (17 Jan 1772) in Königsberg. He was a member of an old Königsberg family. Attended the Altstadt School, then the university (studying under Rabe), as well as in Leipzig, Halle, and Leyden, becoming a learned orientalist and polyglot, fluent in Hebrew, Arabic, French, English, Italian, and Dutch, as well as Greek and Latin [Klemme 1994, n.114]. His opposition to Pietism [glossary] (and thus to his colleague F. A. Schultz), was inherited from his father, the pastor Johann Quandt. He developed a considerable personal library numbering 8000 volumes, and including English and Dutch books. His Preußische Hausbibel (1734) was the first Bible to be printed in Königsberg, and in 1738 he oversaw the first Polish translation published in Prussia. He published a hymnal (in response to Rogall’s pietist hymnal) in 1743. A great preacher, Frederick the Great called him the best preacher he knew. Served as rector ten times, including WS 1740, when Schultz’s turn was given over to Quandt by the academic senate. Due to illness, Quandt stopped lecturing the last few years of his life, even though his courses continued to be listed in the course catalog. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.170-71, 189, 216-17; Arnoldt 1777, 10, 60; Goldbeck 1782,263; Pisanski 1886, 565; Borowski 1794; Gause 1996, ii.87, 120; Klemme 1994, 23-4; APB; NDB] [last update: 26 May 2007]
[1] Sources differ on this: APB (1714), Pisanski (1715), Arnoldt(1716).
1723/24 (WS): Prof. of Law.
Hagelgans [1737] lists him as Full Prof. of Law.
1678 (Sep 22): Magister; Lecturer in Philosophy.
1682: 2nd inspector of the Alumnat.
1685-1703: Full Prof. of Greek.
1703: Full Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics.*
Born (Apr 11) and died (Jun 23) in Königsberg. Important Aristotelian, enemy of Cartesianism. See Pisanski’s description of his work (1886, 520-1). [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, i.158; ii.371, 385, 432; APB]
1719 (Sep 25): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1724: One month visit to Danzig.
1729-1730: Residence in England to study physics and mathematics.
1731 (Jun 12): Magister (Frankfurt/Oder).
1731/32 (WS): Assoc. Prof. of Physics (Königsberg).*
1734 (May 13): Marriage to Maria Sophia Moritizen.
1735 (Mar 31): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
Karl Heinrich Rappolt was born on 17 Jun 1702 in Fischhausen (a few miles to the north-west of Königsberg), and died on 23 Oct 1753 in Königsberg. As a nine-year-old child he came to Königsberg to study at the Altstadt school, living with his maternal grandfather (an M. Ohlius) and matriculated at the university in 1719 to study theology. Among others,[1] he attended the lectures of the professor of physics Heinrich von Sanden [bio] and the Wolffians J. H. Kreuschner [bio] and C. G. Fischer [bio], and Fischer persuaded him to abandon theology for physics. In 1721 he took up residence in the home of Michael Lilienthal [bio], as a tutor (Lilienthal’s son, Theodor Christoph [bio], would have been only two at the time, and notes in his biography of Rappolt that he enjoyed nine years of his teaching).[2] When in 1729 the university replaced Sanden with the inexperienced Teske [bio], a Pietist, Rappolt left the university to travel through Germany and Holland, and eventually to England where he spent a year studying physics. On his return to Königsberg, he stopped in Berlin to hear lectures on anatomy. Apart from lecturing on physics at Königsberg,[3] he also taught English and lectured on Alexander Pope; Kant’s love of Pope may well have stemmed from Rappolt [Kuehn 2001]. Rappolt’s close friends included the long-serving professor of medicine, J. C. Bohl [bio], whom he knew since their student days, and his student admirers included T. C. Lilienthal and J. G. Hamann (1730-1788). [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, 2: 423-4; Strodtmann 1754, 138-53; Pisanski 1886, 542; Meusel; Vorländer 1924, 1: 50; APB; Kuehn 2001, 76-77; Stark 2004b] [last update: 1 Feb 2008]
[1] Lilienthal provides a list of courses studied during his first year [Strodtmann 1754, 140-41]: logic with Kreuschner, Latin with Strimesius history with Beckher [W. H. Becker], science and Wolffian metaphysics with Fischer, Thomasian ethics and politics with Gregorovius, Cartesian logic with Meyer, logic and metaphysics with Rohden, physics with von Sanden, Pliny with Arendts [Johann Arnd], Hebrew with Golzen [??], dogmatic [thetische] and polemical theologie with Behm, disputation with Baumgarten, homiletics with Lilienthal, and algebra with Langhansen. In later years he also studied philosophy with Marquardt, astrognosy with Arnd, an introduction to the Bible with Behm, and human anatomy with Hartmann. Although he gave up his theology studies, he continued to attend Rogall's lectures on the ancient Hebrews and Wolf's lectures on dogmatic theology.
[2] T. C. Lilienthal wrote the biography printed in Strodtmann [1754, 138-53].
[3] Rappolt’s pro loco disputation took place November 3, 1733, somewhat after he began teaching.
1713 (Sep 21): Dr. Medicine (Königsberg).
1715: Assoc. Prof. of Medicine.
1729: Adjunct Prof. of Medicine
Born (Nov 24) and died (May 20) in Königsberg; the son of Georg Rast (see below) and brother to Georg Heinrich Rast (see below). Hagelgans [1737] lists him as “Fac. Med. adjunctus.” Arnoldt lists his disputation on “de hydrope ejusque curandi per diaphoretica methodo, cardialgia, dysenteria, polypo, utero ejusque constitutione tempore gestationis.” [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.324, 333]
1678: Dr. Medicine (Leyden).
1682: Assoc. Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1691: Adjunct, Medical Faculty.
1705: Full Prof. of Medicine.
1711: 1st Prof. of Medicine.
1728: Retires.
Born (Mar 16) and died (Jan 14) in Königsberg. A professor of Medicine, and father to Christian Friedrich (see above) and Georg Heinrich (see below). The Acta Bor. [i.145] reports (in its "Nova Litteraria" section): “Emeritus Professor (1st) Dr. Georg Rast, January 24, 1729, in his 79th year, as a result of an unfortunate fall from the steps.” [Sources: APB; Jöcher]
1710: Matriculation (Königsberg) to study mathematics.
1718 (Oct 1): Magister (Halle).
1719 (Nov 29): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
1719: Assoc. Prof. of Mathematics.*
Born (Aug 7) and died (Jun 29) in Königsberg; the son of Georg Rast (see above), and brother to Christian Friedrich Rast (see above). Traveled through Germany, France, Holland, and England (where he met Haley at Oxford). A mathematician and astronomer, he studied under Wolff at Halle, and was among the first to teach Wolff at Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.420; Buck 1764, 156-58; Jöcher; Pisanski 1886, 691; Wotschke 1928, 76f.; APB; NDB; Selle 1956, 131-32]
1732 (Oct 25): Magister (Jena).
1735: Adjunct to the Philosophy Faculty (Jena).
1736 (Jun 7): Dr. of Theology (Jena).
1736/37 (WS): Assoc. Prof. of Theology and Oriental Languages (Königsberg).*
Born (Apr 11) in Berlin, died (Aug 19) in Königsberg. Rau arrived at the university at Königsberg as a professor, as his matriculation entry of 1 October 1736, reads: “sacrae Theologiae et Philosophiae Doctor et Professor extraordinarius.” Rau gave the morning sermons at the Collegium Fridericianum beginning in 1739 (Kant’s last year there), and was offering courses at the university while Kant was a student [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.220-1, 426; Pisanski 1886, 637; Wotschke 1929/30, 43f.; Klemme 1994, 39]
Select Publications:
Liber Genesios hebraice (Königsberg, 1737).
Kurzgefaßte Anfangsgründe der hebräischen Grammatik (Königsberg, 1738).
Ausführliche Anfangsgründe der hebraischen Grammatik, ed. by G. D. Kypke (Königsberg and Leipzig, 1780).
G. C.
Reccard
1762: Pastor at the Trinity Church and 2nd inspector of the Realschule (Berlin).
1765: Moved to Königsberg; Deacon at the Sackheim Church.
1766 (Oct 7): Dr. of Theology[1] (Königsberg).
1766: 5th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1767: Pastor at the Collegium Fridericianum.
1772: Consistory Advisor.
1776-96: Director of the Collegium Fridericianum (replacing D. H. Arnoldt).
Gotthilf Christian Reccard was born in Wernigerode (13 Mar 1735) and died (3 Oct 1798) in Königsberg; he was the son of a deacon. Reccard studied theology at Halle, traveled in England and France after working in Berlin as a pastor and school inspector, then moved to Königsberg. Turned down a mathematics professorship at Königsberg in the mid-60s. He was an enlightened theologian, and his interest in mathematics, astronomy, and geography resulted in a highly successful textbook of the philosophical and mathematical sciences; Metzger claims he was much better known as an astronomer than as a theologian. He built, at his own expense, an observatory next to the parsonage of the Sackheim Church, where he was the pastor (Bernoulli describes viewing Reccard’s library and his scientific instruments, as well as his notebook of astronomical observations, noting that he hopes to build an observatory on a recently purchased piece of land). Recommended by Friedrich II “as a man of enlightened thinking,” he was also an opponent of the local pietists. He was an uncle by marriage to his younger colleague Christian Jakob Kraus.[2] [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 32, 37; Arnoldt 1777, 21-22; Baczko 1790, 642-44 (bibliography); APB; ADB; Bernoulli 1779, iii.24-28, 36; Goldbeck 1782, 67; Pisanski 1886, 565; Metzger 1804b, 36; Rhesa 1834, 6; Konschel 1912, 8; Gause 1996, ii.286] [Letter: 167, +] [last update: 6 Aug 2013]
[1] Arnoldt [1769] gives both 7 Oct 1765 and 7 Oct 1766 as the dates of his promotion; Arnoldt [1777] gives 7 Oct 1766.
[2] At least when Kraus was in Königsberg as a student, they did not appear to enjoy a warm relationship [Krause 1881, 71-72].
1776: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1777: Studied in Leipzig.
1788: Dr. of Law; Lecturer (Königsberg).
1789: Assoc. Prof. of Law.
1790: 4th Full Prof. of Law.
1792: Assessor of the East Prussian government.
1796: 3rd Full Prof. of Law; Government advisor.
1802: 2nd Full Prof. of Law.
1803: 1st Full Prof. of Law; Chancellor of the University.
1812: Court advisor.
1822: Privy Legal Advisor.
1840: Higher Legal Advisor.
Also: Reidnitz. Daniel Christoph Reidenitz was born 23 December 1760 (some sources claim 1751) about 40 kilometers northeast of Königsberg in Legitten (by Labiau, now Polessk). His father was a pastor in Legitten and his mother was the daughter of David Vogel (1674-1736), a professor of theology at Königsberg. Reidenitz served in various government capacities in East Prussia and taught law at the university in Königsberg for nearly half a century.
Reidenitz attended the Cathedral School in Königsberg and entered the university there in 1776 to study law, transferring to Leipzig in 1777. He received a doctorate in law at Königsberg eleven years later (1788) and began giving lectures, being promoted the following year to the 4th full professorship of law (1790). In 1803 he was promoted to first professor, whose office included serving as chancellor of the university. He was also appointed to various government offices: assessor of the East Prussian government (1792), government advisor (1796), tribunal advisor (1812), privy court advisor (1822), higher court advisor (1840). He died in Königsberg on 8 or 9 of April 1842.
He lectured on Prussian common law (Landrecht) and East Prussian provincial law beginning with his appointment to full professor, and student notes from his courses have been preserved in the Dohna Library in Schlobitten, as well as in the literary remains of Theodor von Schön. His book on natural law (1803) arose from lectures held each year since 1798 on the “metaphysical first principles of the doctrine of right of Professor Kant,” to whom he also dedicated the book — a popularization of Kant's Rechtslehre, with a few minor innovations.[Sources: Baczko 1790, 644; Metzger 1804b, 59-60; Hamberger 1811, 15:119; 1823, 19:279; Hartung 1825, 166; Neuer Nekrolog, 20:1073; APB; Gause 1996, ii.343, 491] [last update: 13 Feb 2009]
Select Publications:
Naturrecht (Königsberg, 1803).[1]
[1] This book was reviewed in the Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung, #212, cols. 196-98 (July 1803).
1750 (Mar 24): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1763: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1772: Full Prof. of Physics.*
1773-78: 2nd Librarian, Royal Library (replaced F. E. Jester).
1778: 1st Librarian, Royal Library (replaced F. S. Bock).
1780: Inspector of the Alumnat and the Collegium Albertinum.
Born in Königsberg on 28 April 1735 to the Altstadt pastor Christian Friedrich Reusch (20 Oct 1695-22 Feb 1742), and died in Königsberg on 28 August 1806. Reusch studied under Kant and was later a regular guest at his table, teaching physics alongside him since 1772 (both C. J. Kraus [bio] and K. G. Hagen [bio] were student participants at Reusch’s pro loco disputation on 24 September 1772 and both later returned to teach with him). He served for a time as the inspector to the Gröben Scholarship House, and as inspector of the Alumnat [glossary] he was given lodging in the Albertina.
He was married to Christina Charlotte Hagen (1745-1804), the older sister to his later student and colleague K. G. Hagen, and together they had seven children, including three sons: Carl Wilhelm Georg His matriculation entry for 17 Sep 1793 reads: “Reusch Car. Georg. Wilhelm., Regiomontan. Boruss., med. cult.” [Erler 1911, 2: 624]. (3 Feb 1776-4 Dec 1813), who was the city physician and an associate professor of medicine at the university; Christian Friedrich (1778-1848)[bio], who attended Kant’s lectures from 1794 to 1795; and Johann Theodor (b. 18 Aug 1783), who became a pharmacist. [Letters: 93, 156, 197, 200, 217, 227, 241, 341, 342][Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 41; Goldbeck 1782, 84-5, 160; Pisanski 1886, 492-93; Baczko 1790, 644-45; Metzger 1804b, 64; Bartisius 1865] [last update: 20 Sep 2022]
[1] Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999] give Reusch’s death-year as 1805.
1717 (Nov 11): Magister (Königsberg).
1718: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
Also: Röhsa. Born in Melau (Pr.), son of Jacob Röhsa. Does not appear in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999]. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 184]
[letters: 337, 883, 884]
He gave a pro receptione disputation on April 30, 1789, but there is no indication of him offering lectures at the university. In 1795 he moved to Silesia to work for the mines.
1786 (Apr 1): Matriculation in Theology (Königsberg).
1789 (March; April 16): Magister, PR (Königsberg).
1789 (Oct)-1790 (Sep): Studies in Leiden.
1792, 1792-93: Lecturer (summer and winter semester) in Theology, Oriental Languages, and Greek (Königsberg).
1793 (summer): Private tutor in Courland (through fall 1794).
1794 (Nov 15): Married the Courlanderin Julia Louise Gertrude von Brunnow (1768-1816) in Königsberg.
1794 (Nov 25): Assoc. Prof. of Oriental Languages (Königsberg).
1799 (Oct): Doctor of Theology (Königsberg).
1800: 5th Full Prof. of Theology.
1801 (Aug/Sep): Head Pastor of the Trinity Church (Danzig) and Director of the Danzig gymnasium.
Theodor Rink (also: Rinck) was born (8 Apr 1770) in Slave (Schlawe, Pomerania), and died (27 Apr 1811) in Danzig (now: Gdansk). He was the second son of the pastor Johannes Gottlieb Rink (1732-1773) and Gotthilf Christina Rink, neé Rau (1744-1770), the daughter of Joachim Justus Rau [bio], a Professor of Theology at Königsberg. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his father when he was three, which led him to live with his maternal grandmother in Königsberg, the daughter of Christian Schiffert (1688-1765) – the inspector of the Collegium Fridericianum – and whose husband (Georg Martin Horn) also taught there. Through this grandmother, Rink was also related to Johann August Starck [bio]. Starck was a controversial figure in Königsberg, where he lived from September 1769 until March 1777, teaching near eastern languages in the philosophy faculty at the university and serving as the assistant court chaplain, later receiving a professorship in the theology faculty. In April 1774 he married the youngest daughter of Franz Albert Schultz (†1763), who had been a prominent Pietist theologian. Starck moved to Darmstadt and later received an hereditary title in 1811 (thus his ‘von’); and because he had children, he adopted his grown but orphaned great-nephew Theodor Rink for the purposes of passing on this title. Rink died shortly after this, but his elder son received the title.
Rink attended the Collegium Fridericianum until matriculating at the university when he was sixteen (1 Apr 1786). He attended Kant’s lectures
Our only evidence for this comes from Rink himself [1805, 120]:
“I was his student from 1786 until 1789. After returning from my travels to Holland and Germany, I was his dinner guest, usually twice per week, in the years 1792 and 1793, as I also was after my return from Curland, from 1795 to 1801.”
but was most closely affiliated with J. G. Hasse [bio], and it was likely through his relationship with Hasse that he eventually entered Kant’s social circle. After three years Rink graduated as a Magister and habilitated, but then left Königsberg for a trip through parts of Germany and then Holland, where he studied philology at Leiden with Kant’s schoolfriend David Ruhnken and Arabic with Albert Schulten.
Rink writes [1801, 276]:
“Ich war neunzehn Jahre alt, als ich im J. 1789 nach Leiden kam, und hatte mich geraume Zeit vorher fast ausschliesslich mit der orientalischen Litteratur beschäfftigt. Ruhnken leitete mich nicht nur zur erneuerten Verbindung mit meinen noch frühern Lieblingen, den griechischen Musen, zurück, sondern belebte mich vorzüglich auch für die lateinische Litteratur, während ein Schultens meine Neigung für den Orient sorgsam unterstützte. Der glücklichen Zeit! unvergesslich mir durch diese Lehrer, unvergesslich durch die Harmonie, die sie in meine Studien übertrugen!”
To non-Kantians, Rink seems to have been best known for his collecting and research of Arabic writings – the ADB entry does not mention Kant at all, and also gives Rink’s death-year as 1821, which appears to stem from a misprint when moving between the 2nd and 3rd editions of Georg Benedict Winer, Handbuch der theologischen Literatur [Leipzig: Carl Heinrich Reklam]. The 2nd edition [1826, 414] gives 1811, while the 3rd edition [1840, 2: 734] gives 1821 as the death-year. ADB cites the 3rd edition.
Rink returned to Königsberg in 1792 as a lecturer, He is first listed in the Catalog for summer 1792; Arnoldt claims he began in winter 1792/93, lecturing on (1) the Gospel of Matthew and Paul’s Letter to Hebrews, (2) the Idylls of Bion and Moschus, (3) Genesis, and (4) Arabic and Ethiopian [1908-9, 5: 319] – these all appear under his name as philology courses in the catalog. that fall, but then spent the next year in Courland, Recke/Napiersky claim that Rink spent this year in Nogallen in Courland (now: Nogale, Latvia) as a Hofmeister in the home of von Fircks, a former president of the Oberhofgericht, also marrying a woman from Courland – Julia Louise Getrude von Brunnow (1768-1816) – before returning to Königsberg at the end of 1794. returning again to Königsberg as an associate professor of Oriental Languages (1794) and then Full Professor of Theology (1800), also serving as inspector of the Kypke scholarship house. He left for Danzig in 1801 to serve as Head Pastor of the Trinity Church and Rector of the gymnasium.
Rink published a memoir of Kant in 1805 (Ansichten), where he noted his contact with Kant: as a student from 1786 to 1789 and then as a dinner guest during 1792-93 and from 1795-1801, normally dining with Kant twice a week.
Rink left Königsberg for Danzig in the summer of 1801, taking with him various Kantiana, including various sets of lecture notes – an-Rink 1 and 2 (geography) and an-Rink 3 (pedagogy), and an-Pölitz 2 (theology) – and Kant’s copy of the 3rd edition of Baumgarten’s Metaphysica. Rink’s books were auctioned at his death. Rink edited Kant’s Physical Geography lectures (1802)[writings], Education lectures (1803)[writings], and his Progress of Metaphysics (1804)[writings], At the end of his preface to the 1800 polemic against Herder (the Mancherley zur Geschichte, written jointly with Jäsche), Rink announces that he and Jäsche will be publishing a variety of works based on Kant’s manuscripts: “his Metaphysics […] his Logic, Natural Theology, Physical Geography, and other interesting writings” [1800, xix-xx]. Rink published the Physical Geography (1802), On Pedagogy (1803) and Progress in Metaphysics (1804) and Jäsche published the Logic (1799). Presumably the materials intended for a publication on natural theology were passed on to Pölitz, who published these lecture notes in 1817. The notes on metaphysics that Pölitz pubished in 1821, however, did not come from Rink, and Rink’s own plans for such a publication – which he abandoned – were likely based on Kant’s annotations in his copy of Baumgarten’s Metaphysica. and also wrote one of the early biographies of Kant [Rink 1805]. [Sources: Metzger 1804b, 54; Rink 1805, 120; Recke/Napiersky 1831, 3:550; Morgenstern 1843; ADB; Stark 1993, 23-27; Stark 2015b, 260-66; Stark 2019b] [Letters: 837, 840a, 841, 890a, 893, 894b, 894c, 895,++] [last update: 16 Feb 2023]
Select Publications:
Mancherley zur Geschichte der metacritischen Invasion: nebst einem Fragment einer ältern Metacritik von Johann George Hamann, genannt der Magus in Norden, und einigen Aufsätzen, die Kantische Philosophie betreffend (Königsberg: Friedrich Nicolovius, 1800), xxii, 256 pp.
Tiberius Hemsterhuys und David Ruhnken. Biographischer Abriss ihres Lebens. Für Freunde der Humanität und des Studiums der Alten insbesondere (Königsberg, 1801)
Ansichten aus Immanuel Kant’s Leben (Könïgsberg: Göbbels und Unzer, 1805). Reprint: Bruxelles, Aetas Kantiana, 1968.
1717 (Sep 28): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1722: Matriculation (Halle).
1723 (Jan 18): Magister (Halle).
1724 (Jun 24): AR (Königsberg).
1725 (Aug 30): Dr. of Theology (Königsberg).
1725: Full Prof. of Philosophy (until 1731) and Assoc. Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1727: Inspector of the Collegium Fridericianum.
1728: Director of the Polish Seminar; consistory advisor.
1728 (Sep 14): Adjunct Director of the Collegium Fridericianum.
1729: Director of the Collegium Fridericianum (replacing Lysius).
1731: Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1732: 3rd Full Prof. of Theology; pastor of the Cathedral and inspector of the Cathedral School.
Georg Friedrich Rogall was born (19 Apr 1701)[1] and died (6 Apr 1733) in Königsberg; he was the son of a merchant. During this brief life he vigorously promoted Pietism [glossary] in Königsberg, introduced various pedagogical reforms, and edited a popular hymnal.
Rogall attended the Altstadt gymnasium, entered the university in Königsberg as a theology student, then transferred to Frankfurt/Oder and then to Halle in 1722, where he studied under Christian Wolff [bio], also coming under the influence of August Hermann Francke [bio], who soon converted him to pietism. After receiving his magister at Halle (1723), he returned to Königsberg (Matrikel: 15 Jun 1724) where he received a doctorate in theology the following year (1725), and with Francke’s help and by order of the pietist king, Friedrich Wilhelm I, a new full professorship of philosophy was created at the university in Königsberg for him. He was also made an associate professor in theology against the objections of the dean of the theology faculty, Johann Jakob Quandt [bio]. One of Rogall’s first actions was to push successfully for the expulsion in 1725 of Christian Gabriel Fischer [bio], one of the philosophy faculty’s most outspoken advocates of Christian Wolff’s philosophy.[2]
In 1727 Rogall was made inspector of the Collegium Fridericianum, then adjunct director (1728), and in 1729 he assumed the directorship[3] (from the more liberal Heinrich Lysius [bio]), with instructions from the King to pattern the school after Franke’s orphanage at Halle. He also hired Daniel Salthenius [bio] as inspector, and together they developed free schools in Königsberg for the underprivileged. A longer biography of Rogall is also available. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746; Arnoldt 1756, 35; Arnoldt 1769, 12; Arnoldt 1777, 49; Pisanski 1790; Zippel 1898, 71-8; Erler, 2: 321; APB; ADB; Riedesel 1937; Gause 1996, 2: 118-20, 151; Klemme 1994, 20-21] [last update: 30 Jan 2008]
Select Publications:
Kern alter und neuer Lieder: für das Königreich Preussen mit einem erwecklichen Spruche über einem jeden Liede und mit erbaulichen Gebeten, auch nöthigen Registern (Königsberg, 1731).
Brüderliche Erweckung an einige angehende Lehrer im Königreiche Preußen (Königsberg, 1731).
Dissertatio critico-exegetica de auctoritate et antiquitate interpunctionis in Novo Testamento (Königsberg, 1734).
[1] Arnoldt [1777, 49] gives 14 Apr 1701.
[2] Rogall was nonetheless not averse to Wolff's teachings or method as such. All of Rogall's philosophy lectures were on philology, except for in his first two years, and then he lectured from Wolff's textbooks.
[3] Rogall was still director in 1732 when an eight-year old Immanuel Kant enrolled, although it is often claimed that F. A. Schultz [bio] was the director at that time.
Rosenkranz studied in Berlin, Halle, and Heidelberg. Although he became one of Hegel’s closest followers, as a student in Berlin he attended Friedrich Schleiermacher’s lectures more than Hegel’s, reading Hegel only after transferring to Halle, where he eventually habilitated and began lecturing (1828). He accepted an associate professorship in Königsberg (1831) and then assumed Kant’s old chair as a full professor (1833) when Johann Friedrich Herbart left for a position in Göttingen. (Before Herbart, Wilhelm Traugott Krug (1770-1842) had held Kant’s chair, from 1805 to 1809, when he accepted a position at Leipzig.) Rosenkranz remained at Königsberg for the remainder of his career, save for a brief stint in Berlin (1848-49), but blindness forced his retirement in 1874. He co-edited an edition of Kant’s collected writings with F. W. Schubert [bio] (Sämmtliche Werke, 12 vols., Leipzig: 1838-42), with the 12th and final volume being Rosenkranz’ History of Kant’s Philosophy (1840), where he presents Hegel as Kant’s natural completion – the third section is titled “Overcoming the Kantian Philosophy,” with chapters on Fichte [bio], Herbart, Schopenhauer, Schelling, and Hegel. Rosenkranz was in personal contact with Kant’s former student Theodor von Schön [bio], whose political orientation he shared. [Sources: ADB; NDB]
1712: Magister (Jena).
1715: 2nd inspector of the Alumnat (replacing Lilienthal).
1719: Conrector of the Gymnasium at Elbing.
1720: Full Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics.*
Born (Aug 24) and died (Jul 4) in Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, i.348, ii.386-7; Wotschke 1928, 37]
1700 (Apr 15): Magister; Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1708: Deacon in the Löbenicht Church.
1721: Consistory Advisor.
1726 (Jul 17): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
Also: Sahm. Arnold Heinrich Sahme was born (11 Jun 1676) and died (26 Apr 1734) in Königsberg. He suffered a strong in 1727, and so retired from his offices. [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 65; APB; NDB]
1679: Matriculation (Königsberg).
168?: Magister (Jena).
1689: Returns to Königsberg; Lecturer in Philosophy.
1694: 2nd inspector of the Alumnat (replacing Georgi).
1701: Rector and professor of mathematics of the Johannisschule (Danzig).
1702: Returns to Königsberg to serve as Deacon at the Neuroßgarten Church.
1710 (Feb 27) [APB: 1709]: Doctor of Theology; Assoc. Prof. of Theology, and Deacon of the Alstadt Church.
1718: 4th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1721: 3rd Full Prof. of Theology.
Christian Sahme was born (10 Jan 1663) and died (26 Jul 1732)[1] in Königsberg; he was the son of Jacob Sahme (Full Prof. of Greek, 1658-62). Attended the Cathedral School, then the Albertina where he studied philosophy and mathematics, continuing his studies in Kiel and Holland. A professor of theology, he also gave lectures on mathematics. A grandson was Jakob Friedrich Werner, later professor of history and poetry. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, i.346; Arnoldt 1777, 41, 45; APB; NDB; Wotschke 1928, 27] [last update: 21 May 2007]
[1] Arnoldt [1777, 41] claims 28 July 1732.
1698: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1707: Dr. of Law (Gießen).
1710: Full Prof. of Law (Königsberg).
1736: 1st Full Prof. of Law.
1739: Raised to the nobility.
1744: First chancellor of the university.
Born and died in Königsberg. Professor of law, giving lectures on Prussian law. First chancellor of the Albertina (a position created in 1744 in honor of its 200 year anniversary). Flottwell put together a "Women’s Academy" in the manner of his mentor Gottsched, meeting in the house of Prof. Sahme to study literature and music. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Gause 1996, ii.138, 141; Lestition 1989; APB]
1724: Arrived in Halle.
1728: Inspector of the Latin school of the orphanage (Halle).
1729 (Apr 30): Magister (Halle).
1729-32: PR; inspector of the Collegium Fridericianum, and Assoc. Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics* (Königsberg)
1731-50: Rector of the Cathedral School (replaced A. Columbus).
1732: Dr. of Theology; Assoc. Prof. of Theology (replacing A. Wolf)(Königsberg).
1734 (SS): 6th Full Prof. of Theology.
1745: 5th Full Prof. of Theology.
Born (Mar 16) in Marken (near Upsala, Sweden), died (Jan 29) in Königsberg. He was the son of a pastor. As a theology student in Uppsala, Salthenius was accused of being in league with the devil and condemned to death, which he escaped only through the help of some professors. Bornhak reports that this story became known in 1737, resulting in calls for his dismissal; a report of October 26 of that year decided in his favor.
Salthenius taught at the Pädagogio in Halle, and then served as the inspector of the Latin schools of the Halle orphanage. F. A. Schultz called him to Königsberg in 1729 to serve as inspector of the Collegium Fridericianum (replacing Wolff); he was also given the associate professorship of logic and metaphysics vacated by Teske, and offered courses in philosophy for five semesters (WS 1729/30 to WS 1731/32), after which he gave up this position (replaced by Martin Knutzen), having been promoted to Dr. of Theology and given a full professorship in that faculty. A learned man, Salthenius was a gifted padagogue and school administrator, and he possessed the largest private library at the time – some 22,000 volumes – in all of Prussia. A longer biography of Salthenius is also available. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.191, 193, 219-20; Goldbeck 1782, 176-8, 210; Pisanski 1886, 475, 529; Bornhak 1900, 117; Klemme 1994, 4n; APB]
1686 (Jan 27): Magister (Leipzig).
1693: Lecturer in Theology (Königsberg).
1695: Assoc. Prof. of Theology
1696: Dr. of Theology.
1699: 4th Full Prof. of Theology.
1703: 3rd Full Prof. of Theology; Pastor (Löbenicht).
1708: Pastor (Kneiphof).
1709: 1st court-chaplain and 1st Full Prof. of Theology.
Bernhard von Sanden, Jr., was born (4 May 1666) and died (22 Jan 1721) in Königsberg; he was the son of Bernard von Sanden, Sr., Professor of Theology (see below), and himself a pastor and professor of theology. After receiving his magister degree, he traveled through Germany, Italy (where he was accepted into the Society of the Recuperatorum in Padua in 1689), Holland, and England [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.184, 188, 210; Arnoldt 1777, 10; Pisanski 1886, 3320, 513; Gause 1996, ii.4] [last update: 21 May 2007]
1659 (Apr 17): Magister (Königsberg).
1664: Assistant Deacon at the Löbenicht Church (Königsberg).
1667: Deacon (Altstadt).
1674: Assoc. Prof. of Theology [Arnoldt, ii.206]
1675 (Jul 18): Doctor of Theology (Königsberg).
1679: Pastor (Altstadt).
1687: 2nd Full Prof. of Theology.
1688: 1st court chaplain; 1st Full Prof. of Theology.
1690: Supervisor of all churches in Prussia.
1701: Bishop.
Born (Oct 4) in Insterburg (Prussia), died (Apr 19) in Königsberg. A Lutheran theologian, professor of theology, and bishop. After receiving his magister degree, he traveled in Holland, France, and England for five years, returning to Königsberg in 1664. All three of his sons were promoted to doctor on the same day in 1696 (July 10), each in one of the higher faculties: Bernard Jr. in theology, Johann Friedrich in law, and Heinrich in medicine. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.165-6, 206, 467; Arnoldt 1777, 34, 40; Jöcher; Gause 1996, ii.4]
1722: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1728: Began study of medicine at Königsberg.
1741 (Oct 4): Dr. of Medicine (Halle).
1741: Returned to Königsberg.
1744 (Sep 4): Magister (Königsberg).
1756: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
Born (Jan 16) and died (Sep 16 or 17) in Königsberg. He was the son of Heinrich von Sanden, a prominent Professor of Medicine (see below). Little is known of his activities; although he received his doctorate in medicine before returning to Königsberg, it does not appear that he ever taught in the medical faculty. Instead, he pursued a magister degree, which would allow him to teach in the philosophy faculty. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.433, 472; 1769, 119-20; Pisanski 1886, 615, 695; Meusel 1812, 12:34; APB]
Select Publications:
De algebrae in physica utilitate (Königsberg, 1733).
Meditationes de legibus, quas corpora descendentia observant (Königsberg, 1756).
1681: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1689: AR.
1696 (Jul 10): Dr. Medicine (Königsberg).
1697: Assoc. Prof. of Medicine.
1704 (Sep 18): Full Prof. of Physics; Magister (Königsberg).*
1713 (Feb 1): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
1714: Adjunct, Medical Faculty; city physician to Kneiphof.
Born (Jul 28) and died (Aug 10) in Königsberg; the son of Bernhard von Sanden, Sr. (see above). (APB reports his death-year as 1729.) After his studies in Königsberg, he traveled to Copenhagen and Leyden, then returned and was promoted to Dr. of Medicine. He worked as a physician and associate professor of medicine (1697-1728), later becoming also the full professor of physics, becoming one of the first in Prussia to concern himself with experimental physics. In 1705 he married Johanna Feyerabend, a daughter of the mayor of Kneiphof (one of the three cities consolidated in 1724 to comprise Königsberg); from this marriage came one daughter and two sons: Christian Bernhard and Johann Heinrich, both professors of medicine at Königsberg. In matters of medicine, Sanden was a Cartesian. He joined the Academy of Sciences in 1713. His large collection of natural objects was inherited by Adolf Saturgus (1685-1739). He served twelve times as dean, and died as rector. A longer biography of Sanden is also available. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, 2: 331, 395; Buck 1764, 140-44; Jöcher; Pisanski 1886, 369; APB; ADB] [last update: 5 Feb 2009]
1696: Dr. Law (Königsberg).
1697: Assoc. Prof. of Law.
Born (Aug 15) and died (Oct 26) in Königsberg; the son of Bernard von Sanden, Sr. (see above).
1723: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1734: Dr. of Medicine (Halle).
1737/38 (WS)-1739 (SS): Assoc. Prof. of Medicine.
1739: Left the university to practice medicine in Elbing.
1747/48 (WS)-1759/60 (WS): Full Prof. of Pathology (Königsberg).
Born (Oct 15) and died in Königsberg; the son of Heinrich von Sanden, Professor of Medicine (see above). [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.336; Pisanski 1886, 614; APB]
1667-72: Rector in Lötzen.
1672: Pastor in Ridseven (Pr.).
1701: Magister (Jena).
1701: Lecturer in Philosophy.
At the age of 62 went to Jena, received his magister degree, and returned to Königsberg where he was received into the philosophy faculty (disputing on “de mistura linguarum”. Died in 1710 in Ridseven (According to Arnoldt, he died in 1718.) [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 188; Pisanski 1886, 643]
1723 (Apr 2): Magister (Königsberg).
1724: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
Also: Schärmacher. Born in Königsberg, and studied at the university. F. S. Bock [bio] lodged with him in the early 1730s while studying at the university, but Arnoldt reports that he “soon left his homeland, and nothing reliable has been heard of him since.” Not listed in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999]. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 139; Wotschke 1929/30, 25]
1721: Lecturer in Philosophy; 2nd inspector of the Alumnat (replacing Boltz).
1737: Pastor in Lochstädt and Altpillau.
Born in Holland (Pr.), died 9 Jul 1762. He received his magister at Jena, then lectured in Königsberg (1721) until receiving a pastoral appointment in Lochstät/Altpillau (1737). Not listed in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999]. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, 1: 348; Arnoldt 1777, 15]
1755 (Mar 20): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1758-63: Taught at the Collegium Fridericianum.
1763: Magister; Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1765-80: Rector of the Cathedral School (Riga), replacing J. G. Lindner.
1777: Dr. of Theology (Erlangen); after which he served as pastor at the Cathedral in Riga.
1790: 1st Full Prof. of Theology (Greifswald) & Generalsuperintendent of Swedish Pomerania
Born (16 Feb 1739) in Königsberg and died (27 May 1810) in Greifswald. Studied at the Collegium Fridericianum, then the Albertina. He also taught at the Collegium Fridericianum while teaching at the university, until moving to Riga in 1765, where he worked with his assistant, Johann Herder, who also had recently left the university (as a student) to teach at Riga. He left in 1771 for travels through Germany. Goldbeck lists thirty-six publications (or groups of publications). A painting of Schlegel may be viewed in the St. Nikolai Church in Greifswald. [Sources: Goldbeck 1781, 190-91; Goldbeck 1783, 175-79; APB; ADB][Letter: 708] [last update: 7 Feb 2008]
Select Publications:
Grundlage der Dogmatik (1806).
1777-80: Studied Theology and Law (Göttingen).
1785: Lecturer (Göttingen).
1787: Dr. of Law; Prof. of Law (Rinteln).
1789-1802: 3rd Full Prof. of Law (Königsberg).[1]
1798: Consistory Advisor.
1801: 1st Ful Prof. of Law; Chancellor of the University (Königsberg).
1803: Full Prof. of Law at Halle.[2]
1810: Full Prof. of Law at the new university in Berlin, and its first rector.
Born in Hannover, died in Berlin. Lectured on German Constitutional Law when Heinrich Ludwig Adolph Graf von Dohna-Wundlacken (1777-1834) was a student at Königsberg (early 1790s). Wrote a Kantian textbook on natural law. Politically, Schmalz was a strong supporter of the monarchy (an “arch-royalist,” according to Kant); economically, he was called “the last of the Physiocrats.” [Sources: Abegg 1976, 179-80; Metzger 1804b, 54-55; Hartung 1825, 267; APB; ADB (31:624)] [last update: 28 Oct 2013]
Select Publications:
Das reine Naturrecht (Königsberg 1792).
Encyclopädie der Cameralwissenschaften. Zum Gebrauch academischer Vorlesungen (Königsberg: F. Nicolovius, 1797), xii, 228 pp.
[1] Richter [1974, 60] claims Schmaltz was Full Prof. of Law beginning Easter 1788; but his courses are first listed in the lecture catalog of SS 1789.
[2] Kant had written on Saturday, 28 Nov 1802 (in one of the little memory notebooks that Wasianski had made for him): “Prof. Schmaltz geht nach Halle als geheimer Justice Rath.”
1724: Called to Berlin, then Halle, as field chaplain.
Christian Schoeneich was presumably a lecturer in philosophy at Königsberg, and deacon in the Altstadt church. Arnoldt [1777] shows no one by this name in his list of deacons for the Altstadt church, but does list a M. Christoph Schöneich, born (18 Mar 1696) and died (14 Apr 1762) in Königsberg, received his Magister at Jena (15 Jun 1720), was a Field Chaplain near Berlin (1724), pastor at Darkehmen, who then returned to Königsberg as deacon at the Kneiphof church (the Cathedral). These would seem to be the same person. [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 54, 86; Wotschke 1928, 15] [last update: 21 May 2007]
1679: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1690 (Nov 18): Magister (Jena).
1690: Full Prof. of Rhetoric (replacing Jacob Reich).[1]
1694-1717: Librarian, Wallenrodt Library.
1701: Full Prof. of History* (replacing P. J. Hartmann).
1709: Pastor at the Cathedral church.
1710 (Feb 27): Dr. of Theology; Full Prof. of Theology; Consistory Advisor (Königsberg).
Born (25 Sep 1662) and died (9 Oct 1717) in Königsberg. He gave up his position as professors of rhetoric and history in 1709/10, when he assumed a professorship of theology, as well as a pastorate at the Cathedral. He was a brother-in-law to the enemy of Pietism, Christian Masecovius [bio]. [Sources: Pisanski 1886, 278; Arnoldt 1746, 2: 410-11; Arnoldt 1777, 49; APB; NDB; Gause 1996, 2: 115]
[1] Arnoldt [1777, 49] gives 1691.
Schubert was born, lived, and died in Königsberg. He was not quite five when Kant died, so while there is some possibility that their paths crossed, it could not have come to much. He was a professor of history at the university and was politically active, serving as a parliamentarian. For scholars of Kant, he is best known as co-editor with Karl Rosenkranz [bio] of Kant’s Sämmtliche Werke (Leipzig 1838-42), 12 vols. Volume 11.2 is Schubert’s biography of Kant. [Sources: ADB]
1684 (Jan 29): Magister (Königsberg).
1694-1736: Deacon at Haberberg Church.
Born (Mar 21) and died (Nov 7) in Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 192]
1717-22: Hofmeister (Königsberg).
1723: Teacher at the Kadettenkorps (Berlin).
1724: Field chaplain.
1727: Superintendant in Rastenburg, then at Stolp (1729).
1731: Consistory advisor and pastor at the Altstadt Church (Königsberg).
1732 (Sep 9): Dr. of Theology, and 4th Full Prof. of Theology (replaced Abraham Wolff).[1]
1733: Director of the Collegium Fridericianum (replaced Rogall).
1737: Inspector of all schools and churches.
Also: Schulz. Franz Albrecht Schultz was born (25 Sep 1692) in Neustettin (Pomerania), where his father served as the mayor, and died (19 May 1763)[2] in Königsberg. Schultz was a Pietist theologian who studied philosophy and mathematics under Wolff [3] and theology under the Pietist Francke at Halle. After working as a Hofmeister in Königsberg[4] and then teaching briefly in Berlin, followed by various ecclesiastical roles (military chaplain, church superintendent, Probst), he eventually arrived back in Königsberg in 1731, where he replaced Abraham Wolf [bio] as pastor of the Altstadt church and also served as a consistory advisor. He entered into the university matriculation records on 19 July 1732 when he was made a professor of theology, and the following year he also assumed the responsibilities of directing the Collegium Fridericianum, where Kant was a student (1732-40).[5]
Schultz embodied a blend of Rationalism and Pietism [glossary], and appears to have been responsible for reconciling these seemingly antagonistic positions at the university. Kant’s mother was his devoted admirer, as was Kant himself to a degree, attending Schultz’s lectures with his friends Heilsberg and Wlömer while at the university.[6] Schultz served as rector of the university eight times. He was quite influential in church matters, and eventually controlled entry into all the church offices of Prussia, although his influence waned appreciably with the death of Friedrich Wilhelm I. [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 35; Hagelgans 1737; Zedlitz vol 35, cols. 1606-9; Hollack/Tromnau 1899, 246-61; APB; ADB; Klemme 1994, 21-6] [last update: 18 Aug 2014]
[1] According to Klemme, Schultz was appointed by the King as 1st Professor of Theology in 1932, but to avoid conflict in the faculty he assumed the 3rd Professorship in most matters, and in the Academic Senate (to which the two senior theology professors belong) he served as the 2nd Professor.
[2] The Academy edition gives his death-year as 1762; ADB claims 1763, and Arnoldt [1777, 35] gives 19 May 1763.
[3] According to Professor Wald, “Christian Wolff himself is supposed to have often said that if anyone has ever understood him, it is Schultz in Königsberg” (Reicke 1860, 6; repeated in Vorländer 1924, 24 and Selle 1956, 144).
[4] Schultz accompanied two brothers – sons of Baron von Münchau – to the university at Königsberg [Zedlitz].
[5] It is often claimed that Schultz was the director when Kant matriculated (at the end of September 1732), but Rogall was still the director at that time. There is every reason to believe the early report, however, that Schultz was instrumental in getting young Kant enrolled into the Collegium.
[6] See Heilsberg’s account [in Reicke 1860, 50] and also Wasianski [1804, 88]. Schultz was the consistory advisor and pastor at the Altstadt Church, which managed the German school that Kant was attending; it was in this capacity that he came to know of the promising student and managed his transfer to the Collegium Fridericianum. It was perhaps also this connection that led Kant’s mother to attend Schultz’ bible study classes, to which she brought her older children, and that also led to Schultz’s occasional visits to the Kant home [Vorländer 1924, i.20-21]. Borowski [1804, 152] claims that Kant had hoped to erect a monument in Schultz’ honor, and refers [in Reicke 1860, 31] to Schultz as one of Kant’s valued teachers at the Collegium Fridericianum, alongside Kant’s Latin teacher, Johann Friedrich Heydenreich.
1700 (Apr 15): Magister (Königsberg).
1700: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1736: Full Prof. of Law.
Also: Schultze. Listed in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999] beginning SS 1720, so he was a professor at least by then. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.432]
)
1756 (Sep 24): Matriculation in Königsberg, studying theology and mathematics.
17??-66: Hofmeister.
1766-69: Pastor in Starkenberg.
1769-75: Pastor in Löwenhagen.
1775: Deacon at the Altroßgarten Church (Königsberg).
1775 (Jul 6): Magister (Königsberg).
1775 (Aug 2): Habilitation (with a disputation on acoustics)(Königsberg).
1776: 2nd court chaplain at the Castle Church (replacing J. A. Starck) (Königsberg).
1787: Full Prof. of Mathematics (replacing Buck)(Königsberg).
Also: Johann Friedrich Schulz/Schulze. Johann Schultz was born (11 Jun 1739) in Mühlhausen and died (27 Jun 1805) in Königsberg, where he was a professor of mathematics at the university and the second Hofprediger, or court chaplain. Schultz and his wife lived in the right wing of the parsonage of the castle church – the Bischofshof – while Oberhofprediger Johann Ernst Schulz and his wife lived in the left wing [Reicke 1865, 731n]. This was on the north edge of Kneiphof, north of the cathedral. Apart from some original work in mathematics, he is known as Kant’s earliest and (according to Kant) his best expositer.
Schultz attended the Collegium Fridericianum in Königsberg, then the university (1756-??) – although without ever studying with Kant Ludwig Borowski [bio], who was also studying at the university at this time, claimed that Schultz was one of Kant’s best students, and this claim is often repeated in the literature. Other informants from the period, like Wannowski [bio], are uncertain. Schultz himself, however, is quite clear on this point, and there is no reason why he would dissemble. When asked whether he ever attended any of Kant’s lectures, Schultz replied: “Never, except for a single hour as a visitor [Hospes] in physical geography.” [Reicke 1860, 42] – worked as a Hofmeister in the area, then served two pastoral stints in outlying towns before returning to Königsberg as a deacon at the Altroßgarten church (1775) and then as the 2nd court chaplain of the castle church (1776), a post he retained until his death. He also received his Magister at the university, habilitated, and began lecturing with the 1775-76 semester, almost exclusively on mathematics and astronomy. It is suggested in Kuehn [2001, 498n116] that Schultz also lectured on Kant’s Religion within the Bounds of Unaided Reason during 1795 and 1795-96. These lectures were announced for Johann Ernst Schulz (the theology professor), however, not the mathematics professor – and in any event, the lectures for the second semester would likely have been cancelled, given the government prohibition to lecture on Kant’s book (sent to the Academic Senate from Berlin, dated 14 October 1795).
His wife, Johanna Eleonore Schultz (1751-95), was the daughter of anatomy professor Christoph Büttner [bio].
Schultz was a friend of Kant’s, who considered him the best expositor of the Critique of Pure Reason (see his 1784 and 1789). Kant was university rector when the academic senate recommended Schultz’s appointment as professor of mathematics to the government (11 August 1786). Kant called him “the best mind for philosophy that I know in this region” (Letter to Herz, AA 10:133) and Metzger claimed he was “one of the greatest mathematicians alive” and a man of fine character. Kant also turned to him for his mathematical expertise. There are sixteen letters between Kant and Schultz – 13 from Kant – most from between August 1781 and November 1791). A longer biography of Schultz is also available.[Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 14; Baczko 1790, 648-49; Metzger 1804b, 65-6; APB; NDB; Goldbeck 1782, 89; Theis 2002] [last update: 28 May 2007]
)
Select Publications:
Erläuterungen über des Herr Immanuel Kants Critik der reinen Vernunft (Königsberg: Carl Gottlob Dengel, 1784).
Prüfung der Kantische Kritik der reinen Vernunft, two parts (1789, 1792).
Anfangsgründe der reinen Mathesis (Königsberg: 1790).
Kurzer Lehrbegriff der Mathematik (Königsberg, 1797).
1759: Matriculates at the university (Königsberg).
1767: Teacher at the Orphanage (Königsberg).
1771: Pastor at the Orphanage (Königsberg).
1778: 1st court chaplain; Dr. of Theology; Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1798: 1st Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
Also: Schultz. Johann Ernst Schulz was born (25 Dec 1742) Arnoldt [1777, 29] gives 25 Dec 1743, Rhesa [1834, 1], Döring [1835, 4: 74], and Krause [1881, 213] give 20 Dec 1743. in Freysee (near Garnsee), and died (9 Apr 1806) in Königsberg, where he was a professor of theology, 1st court chaplain (Oberhofprediger), a consistory advisor, the General Superintendant of East Prussian schools, and the director of the Collegium Fridericianum. He came to Königsberg when he was ten and studied at the Altstadt gymnasium (under Daubler and Pisanski), and after entering the university in 1759, began a seven-year stint as tutor for the son of Dr. Lilienthal [bio] in 1760. His courses at the university were announced in the Catalog beginning WS 1778/79. In a notice of May 1, 1783, he was listed as 2nd Professor of Theology (T. C. Lilienthal, 1st professor of theology, would have died in March 1781, allowing Reccard and Schulz to each move up one position). Schultz announced lectures on Kant’s Religion within the Bounds of Unaided Reason for SS 1795 and WS 1795/96, although we should assume the lectures for the second semester did not take place, since the government in Berlin had recently prohibited all lectures on Kant’s book (edict sent to the Academic Senate and dated 14 October 1795).
Oberhofprediger Johann Ernst Schulz is often confused in the literature with Hofprediger Johann Schultz, who was also the full professor of mathematics. The family name of each often appears both as ‘Schulz’ and as ‘Schultz’. Both were chaplains at the castle church, each lived in a wing of the Bischofshof on Kneiphof just north of the Cathedral (as listed in the 1784 Address-Calender), both were married and interacted with Kant socially, although Johann rather more than Johann Ernst (see Vorländer [1924, 2: 34n]), although the Oberhofprediger ultimately spent more time with Kant, since he is buried just to his right (zur Rechten Kants beerdigt) [Bessel Hagen 1880, 6, 10, 26]. Because J. E. Schulz taught in the theology faculty, he possessed a doctorate, and therefore is occasionally designated with a ‘D.’, while J. Schultz the mathematician is designated as a Magister (‘M.’). Döring offers a brief bibliography. [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 29; Baczko 1790, 647-48; Metzger 1804b, 57; Hartung 1825, 267; Rhesa 1834, 1; Döring 1835, 4: 74-75; Krause 1881, 213-14] [last update: 27 Nov 2021]
1795: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1801: Moves to Danzig.
1744: Prorector (Rastenburg).
1746: Teaching at the Cathedral School (Königsberg).
1748 (Aug 26): Magister (Königsberg).
1748: Rector (Marienburg).
1752: Rector (Tilsit).
(Also: Schusterus) Born in Elbing. Wrote various poems and an essay on grasshoppers; he also contributed to J. S. Bock’s various moral weeklies: Der Einsiedler (1741-42), Deutsche Aesop (1742-43), and Der Pilgrim (1742-44). No evidence that he ever taught at the university. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 150-51; Pisanski 1886, 481; Rehberg 1942, 67]
Select Publication:
Von den Insecten, besonders von den Heuschrecken (Königsberg, 1750).
1699 (Oct 1): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1707 (Feb 10): Magister (Leipzig).
17??: Lecturer in Philosophy.
1711: Rector in Tilsit.
Born in Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 192; APB]
1762 (Mar 20): Magister (Halle).
1764: Lecturer in Philosophy.* (PR: 5/12)
From Coburg. He studied at Halle under Meier. Not listed in the Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999], so he must have stopped lecturing before WS 1770/71, although Emil Arnoldt reports him as still lecturing in history in SS 1767 (1908-9, v.213). [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 151]
1690 (Mar 2): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1694 (Sep 12): Magister (Jena).
1695 (Nov 14): AR (Königsberg).
1701: Lecturer in Philosophy; 2nd inspector of the Alumnat (replacing Sahme).
1703 (Apr 2): Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
1703-16: Full Prof. of Greek.
1710 (Feb 27): Dr. of Theology; Assoc. Prof. of Theology.
1716: Retired from Full Prof. of Greek; pastor in the Haberberg church.
1719: Pastor in the Altstadt church.
Born (Jan 2) and died (Sep 3) in Königsberg. Studied at the Albertina, Leipzig, Jena, Halle, Altdorf; after receiving his magister degree, traveled through Holland and Germany, returning in 1695. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, i.346; ii.215, 371; Jöcher; Pisanski 1886, 565]
1728 (Oct 25): Magister (Halle).
1729: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1731: Pastor at Schippenbeil.
Born (Nov 15) in Königsberg, died (Nov 24) in Schippenbeil; the son of Johann Ernst Segers (see above). APB (ii.662) lists a Simon Segers (1706-60) as a son of J. E. Segers and as a pastor in Schippenbeil. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 123]
1696 (Apr 26): Magister (Königsberg).
1704: Superintendant in Rastenburg.
Born in Königsberg. Lecturer in Philosophy. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 194; 1777, 258]
1708: 2nd Inspector of the Alumnat (replacing Masecovius).
1711: Superintendent of Salfeld.
1712: Deacon at the Altstadt Church.
Died (Oct 28) in Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, i.347; 1777, 41]
1761: Begins his university studies at Göttingen.
1763 (Aug 9): Arrives in St. Petersburg and meets with Büsching.
1763-65: Moves to St. Petersburg to teach at the Petrina Academy.
1765: Travels to Paris; works at the Royal Library.
1766: Magister awarded in absentia (Göttingen).
1766-68: Assist. Rector at the Gymnasium in Wismar.
1768: Travels to St. Petersburg
1769 (Sep 28): Arrives in Königsberg.
1770-73: Assoc. Prof. of Oriental Languages* Starck was entered in the Matrikel on 2 January 1770, as a Magister from Göttingen; course offerings ran from SS 1770 through SS 1773. APB claims he began his appointment in 1769.
1770 (Sep 21): 2nd Court Chaplain.
1772: 4th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg). Arnoldt [1777, 14] claims he first became a full professor in 1774.
1773 (Oct 28): Doctorate in Theology (Königsberg).
A letter from Starck’s mentor A. F. Busching [bio] to G. F. Müller and dated 29 December 1770 describes Stark as having already received his doctorate in theology (as well as being a professor of philosophy and the adjunct court-chaplain). In an earlier letter to Müller (dated 12 September 1766), Büsching wrote that
“Stark is back from Paris and now the conrector at the gymnasium in Wismar. I recently had him awarded a Magister at Göttingen. He is capable of higher things.”
1776-77: 3rd Full Prof. of Theology.
1776: 1st court chaplain (Feb 17) and General Superintendant of East Prussia (Jul 8).
1777 (March): Professor at the Academy in Mitau.
1781: General Superintendant in Gießen und Darmstadt.
Johann August Starck was born (28 Oct 1741) Döring claims October 29 [1835, 4: 300]. in Schwerin (Mecklenburg), died (3 March 1816) in Darmstadt. Studied theology and oriental languages in Göttingen. Taught at St. Petersburg, made a trip through England, then worked with oriental manuscripts in Paris. He received his magister degree from Göttingen, worked for a while as a rector at a gymnasium in Wismar, returned to St. Petersburg, then to Königsberg, where he received professorships in oriental languages and then theology. It appears that Starck never held a public disputation on arriving at the university, despite the requirement to do so. In 1774 he married the youngest daughter of the late Franz Albrecht Schultz [bio]. His theology and his freemasonry led to unpopularity with many colleagues and students, and he eventually left for Mitau, and then for Darmstadt. Wood and Di Giovanni [1996, xv] suggest that around 1780 the future king (Frederick William) came under the influence of his anti-rational religious revivalism. A longer biography of Starck is also available.[Sources: Pisanski 1886; Arnoldt 1777, 10-11, 14; Strieder 1806, 225-37; Döring 1835, 4: 300-4; APB; ADB; Konschel 1912; Gause 1996, 2: 246; Epstein 1966, 506-17] [last update: 21 May 2007]
Select Publications:
Apologie des Ordens der Freymaurer / Von dem Bruder **** Mitgliede der ** Schottischen Loge zu P.*. Freimaurer [Anon.] (Königsberg, 1770; fully revised 2nd edn, Berlin, 1778).
Dissertatio inauguralis de usu antiquarum versionum Scripturae Sacrae interpretationis subsidio (Königsberg, 1773).
De tralatitiis et gentilismo in religionem christianam liber singularis (Königsberg, 1774).
Hephästion (Königsberg, 1775; 2nd edn, 1776).
Geschichte der christlichen Kirche des ersten Jahrhunderts, 3 vols. (Berlin and Leipzig, 1779-80).
Freymüthige Betrachtungen über das Christenthum [Anon.] (Berlin, 1780; much expanded 2nd edn, 1782).
Ueber den Zweck und Nutzen des Freymaurerordens [Anon.] (Berlin, 1781).
Versuch einer Geschichte des Arianismus, 2 vols (Berlin, 1783-85).
Saint Nicaise, oder eine Sammlung merkwürdiger maurerischer Briefe, für Freymaurer und die es nicht sind [Anon.] (Frankfurt/Main, 1785).
Ueber Krypto-Katholicismus, Proselytenmacherey, Jesuitismus, geheime Gesellschaften und besonders die ihm selbst von den Verfassern der Berliner Monatsschrift gemachte Beschuldigungen, mit Acten-Stücken belegt, 2 vols. (Frankfurt/Main and Leipzig, 1787).
Der Triumph der Philosophie im achtzehnten Jahrhunderte, 2 vols. [Anon.] (Frankfurt/Main, 1803).
Theoduls Gastmahl, oder über die Vereinigung der verschiedenen christlichen Religions Societäten [Anon.] (Frankfurt/Main, 1809; 2nd edn, 1811; 3rd edn, 1813; 4th edn, 1815; 5th edn, 1817).
1710-35: Full Prof. of Rhetoric and History.
1735: Forced to retire.
Born (26 Jul 1684) and died (27 Dec 1744) in Frankfurt/Oder; he was the son of Samuel Strimesius (1648-1730), a theologian at Frankfurt [bio]. Strimesius apparently adopted the novel practice of calling himself a “Doctor of Philosophy” (rather than the traditional “Magister”), which led to a censure (19 April 1712) by von Printz, the Minister of Education in Berlin [Bornhak 1900, 89]. He was also the first member of the Reformed Church to serve as rector at the University (in 1722). Trescho notes that he held “a deadly hatred towards Dr. [F. A.] Schulz,” and recounts an example of Strimesius’ affliction with alcohol, which eventually forced him to retire. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, 2: 411; Jöcher; APB; Trescho 1764, 22; Wotschke 1928, 45; Wotschke 1929/30, 94f., 97f.]
1700 (Apr 15) Magister (Königsberg).
1704: Deacon in the Cathedral Church.
Born (Dec 3) and died (Jan 31) in Königsberg. Lecturer in Philosophy. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 196; Wotschke 1928, 56]
1739 (Feb 3): Doctor of Medicine (Königsberg).
1740: Assoc. Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1752: Emigrates to Poland.
Born (Mar 25) in Heiligenwald (Samland). He emigrated to Poland in 1752 to practice medicine in Wilda. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.336; Arnoldt 1756, 59; Pisanski 1886, 615, 708]
Select Publications:
De extravasationibus in corpore humano
De motu scientifico medici rationalis principio
c.1730: Magister (Kiel).
1732: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1742: Pastor in Creutz
1752: Deacon in Tilsit.
1759: Pastor and superintendent (Tilsit).
Born (Jun 3) in Heiligenwald (Samland), died (Jan 15) in Tilsit. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 152; 1777, 7, 139]
1723 (Apr 2): Magister; Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1731: designated as an Assoc. Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics, but he never assumed the position.
1733-34: Garrison chaplain (Danzig).
Born in Heiligenwald, died in Göttingen. Arnoldt claims he had been designated as an Assoc. Prof. of Oriental Languages (1769, 126). [Sources: Pisanski 1886, 524; Wotschke 1928, 184]
Johann
Teske
1719 (Sep 30): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1726 (May 27): Magister (Halle).
1726 (Aug 10): AR; Lecturer in Philosophy.* (PR: 10/23)
1728-29: Assoc. Prof. of Logic und Metaphysics.*
1729: Full Prof. of Physics (replaced von Sanden).*
1733: Consistory Advisor for Samland.
1760: Honorary professor of the St. Petersburg Academy.
Also: Taeschke, Teschke. Born on 3 May 1704 and died 25 May 1772 in Königsberg. He taught both theoretical and experimental physics during Kant's student years, and he was the first in Königsberg to work with electricity. Kant’s magister dissertation (“On Fire”) was related to Teske’s interests, and one might view Teske as Kant’s academic mentor. Borowski claims that Kant revered Teske, although C. J. Kraus [bio] — a more reliable source — reports that Kant “had a low opinion of Teske and rightly so” [Reicke 1860, 7].
Teske died while serving as rector for SS 1772. Already in SS 1771 he was unable to teach his announced courses (viz. Theoretical Physics, Experimental Physics, and an Examinatorium). A longer biography of Teske is also available. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.396; Meusel 1815, 28-29; Pisanski 1886, 529; Reicke 1860, 7; Wotschke 1928, 71, 120, 133; Kuehn 2001, 78; APB]
1722: Magister (Jena).
1723: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1728: Conrector at the Löbenicht Church.
1729: Prorector at the Altstadt Church.
Born (May 18) in Dietrichsdorff, died (Jul 30) in Königsberg. Supported Wolff’s system. (Arnoldt gives birthdate as 5/14.) [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 197; Pisanski 1886, 474-5, 525, 590]
1668: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1673: Moved to Greifswald.
1674: Magister (Rostock).
1677: Return to Königsberg.
1679: Full Prof. of Practical Philosophy.
Born and died in Königsberg of a merchant and part of a long line of Königsbergers. Attended the Altstadt School, then the University to study philosophy and mathematics. Studied theology at Greifswald and Rostock, before returning to Königsberg. He was an Aristotelian in practical philosophy, lecturing on geography, moral philosophy, and politics. Served fourteen times as dean, and five as rector. Listed in the Catalog through WS 1728/29, although Pisanski claims he finished in 1726. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.391-2; Pisanski 1886, 309, 522; APB]
1717 (Oct 13): Dr. Medicine (Leyden).
1730: Assoc. Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1741: 5th Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1748: 4th Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
1766: 3rd Full Prof. of Medicine (Königsberg).
Born (Jan 20) in Königsberg; the father of Johannes Thiesen (see below). Thiesen traveled in Germany, England, and Holland. He lectured in pharmacology, as well as offering a course on mineralogy and metallurgy (SS 70 and 71, and every WS from 70/71 to 75/76). Pisanski refers to him as a botanist. He had applied for the Full Prof. of Logic and Metaphysics in 1758 (along with Kant, Buck, and others). Last offered lectures in WS 1775/76. [Not to be confused with Gottfried Bernhard Thiessen, also a physician, mentioned at Arnoldt 1769, 153] [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.320, 335; Arnoldt 1769, 41; Pisanski 1886, ix, 614]
1758 (Jan 23) Magister, Lecturer in Philosophy* (Königsberg).
1758 (Apr 20): Dr. of Medicine (Königsberg).
Born (May 11), the son of Gottfried Thiesen (see above). Goldbeck notes that Thiesen “has not been lecturing for years”. Arnoldt notes he was still teaching in SS 1767 [1908-9, v.213], and the Address-Calender for 1770 still lists him as a magistri legentes, as well as a practicing physician (and living on the Altsädtischen Marckt). Not listed in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999], so he was not lecturing after 1770, nor was he ever an associate professor. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 153; Goldbeck 1782, 88; Baczko 1790, 651-52]
1717 (Nov 2): Dr. of Law (Königsberg), Assoc. Prof. of Law.
1723: 4th Full Prof. of Law.
1726: 2nd Full Prof. of Law.
1732: 1st Full Prof. of Law.
Bied (Dec 10). [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746,ii.248, 254, 257, 468]
1690: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1698 (Jan 27): Magister (Leipzig).
1703: Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1712: Superintendant at Bartenstein.
1713: 2nd court chaplain (Königsberg).
1714: Assoc. Prof. of Theology.
1717 (Dec 16): Dr. of Theology, in absentia (Greifswald).
1735: Retired.
David Vogel was born (12 Sep 1674) and died (14 May 1736) in Königsberg. Attended the Roßgärten and Löbenicht schools, then the university to study theology. Although appointed associate professor of theology in 1714, he could not lecture without a doctorate, so he did not offer courses until 1718. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.218; Arnoldt 1777, 13; APB] [last update: 21 May 2007]
1730 (Jun 29): Dr. of Law (Königsberg).
1730/31 (WS): Assoc. Prof. of Law.
1745: 4th Full Prof. of Law.
1750: 3rd Full Prof. of Law.
1730-51: Prof. of Law.
Born (Mar 5) in Lötzen (Pr.), died (Sep 8) in Königsberg. Also: Waga. [Sources: Hagelgans 1737; Arnoldt 1746, ii.258, 278; 1756, 49; Pisanski 1886, 602]
1782: Matriculation (Halle).
1784: Magister (Leipzig).
1787: PR, Full Prof. of Greek (Königsberg).* [Hartung, Klemme: 1786]
1790: Inspector of the Coll. Fridericianum (replaced Reccard [Domsien?]).
1793: Full Prof. of Theology (while also remaining in the philosophy faculty).
1800: Church and school advisor.
1802: Full Prof. of History and Rhetoric.
1806: Full Prof. of Oriental Languages (Königsberg).
1821: 1st Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
Born (17 Oct 1762) in Breslau, In his diary entry for 30 August 1791, Fichte describes Wald as “a fat round Schlesien” [Lauth/Jacob 1962, 416]. where his father was a merchant, and died (22 Feb 1828) in Königsberg. He studied one year in Halle under Krause, Knapp, Semmler, and Nösselt, then transferred to Leipzig where he was awarded a masters degree. Minister Zedlitz recommended him as the new professor of Greek at the university of Königsberg, filling a vacancy created by F. S. Bock’s death several years earlier, and Wald joined the faculty with WS 1787/88.
Minister Woellner named Wald as Director and Head Inspector of the Collegium Fridericianum (against the advice of the consistory), Schwarz [1915, 55]. and in the same edict required that a seminar for schoolteachers be formed at the Albertina, in conjunction with the Collegium Fridericianum; Wald taught this seminar from 1790-1800, modelled after a similar program at Halle. Wald was promoted to the theology faculty, but retained his professorship in philosophy as well. He also served as the Consistory Advisor for South Prussia. After Mangelsdorff’s death (1802), he assumed the history professorship, and also later the oriental languages professorship. Metzger [1804] notes that he was also the director of the Royal German Society. Although gifted, Wald was not thought to have been equal to holding so many chairs, and Selle attributes this accumulation to the poor faculty pay at Königsberg. By 1817, he is listed as 1st Professor of Theology and Full Prof. of Oriental Languages. Wald gave a memorial address on the first birthday after Kant’s death (23 April 1804) Reprinted, along with Wald’s notes and inquries, in Reicke [1860]. and wrote a study on Kant’s relation to Sebastian Frank. [Sources: Baczko 1790, 652-53; Metzger 1804b, 66-67; Hartung 1825, 268-70; unsigned obituary in the Preussische Provinzial-Blätter (1829, 1: 66-69); Vorländer 1924, 1: 227; Gause 1996, 2: 137, 268; Klemme 1994, 30; APB; NDB] [last update: 31 May 2007]
1680: Pastor (Norkitten).
1681: Pastor at the Sackheim Church (Königsberg).
1702 (May): Dr. Theology in absentia (Frankfurt/Oder).
1703: Assoc. Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1704: Inspector of the Jewish Synagogue (Königsberg).
Christian Walther was a pastor and theology professor in Königsberg, where he died on 17 Jan 1717 (while serving as rector of the university). [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 21] [last update: 21 May 2007]
1768 (Apr 19): matriculation (Frankfurt).
Also: Wannowsky. Born (Feb 20) in Ostaszyn (in Nowogrodeck), died (Jan 16) in Königsberg; the son of a reformed preacher. Polish was his first language, but his written German was flawless. He attended the reformed gymnasium in Sluck, then in Berlin; studied theology at the university at Frankfurt/Oder (1768-71); served as a reformed preacher at the orphanage in Königsberg (1772); from 1779 until 1812 (Seibert’s successor) he served as rector of the Burgschule where he inspired many upper-level students with his instruction in Latin and philosophy. He wrote two Kant-inspired texts, in theology and in linguistics: Commentarionem ethico-theologicam de Immanuele Kantio, veritatis religionis christianae in foro rationis humanae non accusatore sed vindice (1806) and Philosophische Prinzipien einer allgemeinen Sprachlehre nach kant und Sacy (1805). [Sources: Goldbeck 1782, 198-99; Müller 1907; Gause 1996, 2: 269]
1747 (Mar 25): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1753 (Oct 12): Matriculation (Frankfurt/Oder).
1753: Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).* (PR: 7/25)
1756 (SS)-1758/59 (WS): Assoc. Prof. of Poetry (Königsberg).* (PL: 5/4)
1759: School rector (Mitau).
1775: Professor at Academia Petrina (Mitau).
Born in Königsberg, died in Mitau; of an English family living in Pomerania. Matters went poorly for him during the Russian occupation [glossary], so he took a job as rector of the city school in Mitau. Kant’s brother, Johann Heinrich, took over this rectorship in 1775 when the school was reformed as the Academia Petrina, and Watson assumed a professorship. See the letter from Hamann’s brother to Lindner (16 March 1757) in Hamann’s Schriften, ed. by Roth (Berlin, 1821-25), iii.11: “Magister Kant lives happy and content. He quietly recruits those attending the lectures of the clamorous Watson, and weakens with industry and true learning the apparent acclaim of this youth.” [Sources: APB; Pisanski 1886, 708; Gause 1996, ii.246]
[1] Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999] list his birth-year as 1733.
1709 (Jun 28): Magister (Greifswald).
1711: Pastor (Lindenau).
1721: Pastor (Leuneburg).
Born in Wargen. [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 217; Pisanski 1886, 563]
1677: Magister (Leipzig).
1679: Full Prof. of Oriental Languages (Königsberg).
Also: Wegner. Born (Dec 30) and died (May 21) in Königsberg, of an important Königsberg family (his father was mayor of Altstadt, etc.). Studied in Königsberg and Leipzig; assumed a professorship in Königsberg after extensive travels in Holland and England. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.363; APB]
1666 (Sep 30): Magister (Königsberg).
1668: Rector (Neustadt-Eberswald).
1674, 1765: Deacon at the lower/higher church (Frankfurt/Oder).
1694 (Jul 12): Dr. of Theology (Halle).
1694: Assoc. Prof. of Theology, and 2nd court chaplain (Königsberg).
1697: 3rd Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1703: 2nd Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
Gottfried Wegner was born (18 Mar 1644) in Oels (Schlesia), died (14 Jun 1709), from the plague, in Königsberg. Professor of Theology, and member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences (entered 9 May 1707). [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 13; Rogge 1878, 523] [last update: 20 Jul 2010]
1713 (Apr 20): Magister (Königsberg); lecturer in philosophy.
1717, 1719: Assistant, then Pastor (Bartenstein).
Died in January in Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 206]
1754: Lecturer in Philosophy.
1757: Pastor (Lichtenhagen).
1764: Deacon at the Alstadt Church (Königsberg).
Born and died (24 Jan 1785) in Königsberg. Not in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999], nor in Pisanski. (Unclear that he was lecturing in 1754.) [Sources: Arnoldt 1777, 42; Rhesa 1834, 13] [last update: 23 May 2007]
1713 (Apr 20): Magister (Königsberg).
1713: Lecturer in Philosophy?
1716: Conrector at the Löbenicht Church.
1721, 1726: Conrector, then Prorector, at Kneiphof School.
Born (Oct 10) and died (Oct 22) in Königsberg. [Sources: Arnoldt 1756, 208]
1744 (Aug 24): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1753: Lecturer in Philosophy.* (PR: 7/18)
1754: Assoc. Prof. of Rhetoric.* (PL: 10/22)
1755: Full Prof. of Rhetoric and History.*
1755-56: Librarian, Wallenrodt Library (replaced C. H. Gütther, his step-father).
Jakob Friedrich Werner was born (15 Sep 1732) and died (21 Apr 1782) in Königsberg. He was the son of a Privy Councilor, and grandson of the theology professor Christian Sahme, although he was only four when his father died, and his mother later married Christian Heinrich Gütther [bio], an associate professor of Greek and later Full Prof. of Rhetoric and History and librarian at the Wallenrodt Library, both positions assumed by Werner upon Gütther’s death in 1755.
Werner married Lovisa Henriette Pietsch, a niece of Professor Valentin Pietsch [bio] and together they had three children, including the poet Zacharias Werner (1768-1823).
Teske was a respondant at his pro loco disputation; K. D. Reusch was one of the student participants at his pro receptione disputation. He assumed the directorship of Gütther’s “Free Society” upon the latter’s death in 1755. As full professor of rhetoric and history, he was required each winter to give two hours on translating an author, one on the introduction to speaking, and one on Latin and German style. In the summer he was responsible for universal history. [Sources: Goldbeck 1781, 137-38; Goldbeck 1782, 82-84, 153; Metzger 1804b, 42-43; APB; Gause 1996, 2: 241]
1739: Dr. of Medicine (Halle).
1741: Assoc. Pr. Medicine (Königsberg).
1762: Left the university?
Werner (1715-1762) Life-dates come from the WorldCat system. Börner gave a provisional 1764 as his death date, Pisanski normally indicates when a person’s professorship ended with their death, but he does not do that here. Wikipedia (German) entry for “Andreas Johannes Orlovius” provides a specific day (28 Feb 1762). was the first in Königsberg to innoculate a patient against smallpox (using the older variolation method practiced in the Middle East and elsewhere; this is prior to Jenner’s work with cowpox vaccines). His first patient was an 11-year-old daughter of a prominent local cleric, which was successful, leading to a quick spreading of the practice of innoculations through Prussia (Werner wrote up the results in his disputation De causa, cur homines femel tantum variolis veris et morbillis corripiantur, 1760). Prior to Werner's work, Boretius [bio] had witnessed the first innoculations in London (20 Aug 1721) on six condemned prisoners, publishing the results (1722) after returning to Königsberg. Dr. Johann Gottfried Hahn was working with innoculations the same time as Werner, and later Dr. George Motherby (the older brother to Robert Motherby [bio]. [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, 2: 337; Börner 1773, 187; Pisanski 1886, 615, 625-26]
1752: Matriculation (Königsberg).
1759 (Sep 29): Magister, Lecturer in Philosophy (PR: Oct 6); Conrector at the Löbenicht School (Königsberg).*
1762, 1774, 1785: Conrector, prorector, then rector of the Altstadt School.
1766: Applied unsuccessfuly for an assoc. prof. in philosophy (the government agreed with the academic senate not to create a position for him).
1773: Applied for an associate professorship (to replace Christiani, who was ill).
1775: Prohibited from lecturing on Crusius.
Born in Brieg (Schlesia), died in Königsberg. A Pietist and a Crusian, he attacked Leibniz and Wolff in his writings. An opponent (and competitor for students) of Kant’s, he edited a short-lived weekly (Philosophische Wochenschrift, 1764) that had been called into existence simply to criticize Kant, the “Harlequin” of the academic stage. Served as rector of the Altstadt School. A royal edict (25 December 1775) named him and Wlochatius as prohibited from teaching Crusius [bio] in their classes; Goldbeck reports that he gave up teaching altogether after this. The last semester that he announced lectures was SS 1780. Kant had a small skirmish with him in 1759 regarding his essay on optimism [writings]; see Kant’s letter to Lindner (28 Oct. 1759; AA 10:19; Zweig 1999, 56). See also Rink [1805, 43-5]. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 155; Pisanski 1886, 474; Goldbeck 1782, 88, 174; Baczko 1790, 654-55; APB; Rehberg 1942, 111]
1736 or 1737: Magister (Jena).
1738: Lecturer in Philosophy.*
1740: Deacon (Bartenstein).
Born (May 14) in Pr. Holland, died (Aug 9) in Bartenstein. Not in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999]. [Sources: Arnoldt 1769, 156; Arnoldt 1777, 227]
[did he matriculate in Königsberg?]
1704 (Sep 18): Magister, Lecturer in Philosophy* (Königsberg).
1712: Left for Oxford.
1717: Dr. Divinity (Cambridge).
1724: Prof. of Arabic (Cambridge).
1715: Libarian (Lambeth Palace).
Also: Wilkins, Wilke, Wilkius. Born in Memel, died (Sep 6) in Hadleigh (England). Studied in Berlin, Rome, Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, Oxford, and Cambridge. Applied for an MA degree at Oxford (23 May 1712) but was denied; later received a Dr. of Divinity from Cambridge, where he then taught Arabic. Later served as a librarian, and in various capacities within the Church of England (archdeacon in Suffolk; Canon at Canterbury). [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, ii.433, 446-7; Pisanski 1886, 708; DNB]
1759 (Sep 21): Matriculation (Königsberg).
1769: Magister and Lecturer in Philosophy (Königsberg).*
1795: Assoc. Prof. of Philosophy (Königsberg).
Wlochatius was born in Darkehmen, Prussia (now Oz’orsk) a village lying about 100 km. east of Königsberg. He taught philosophy at Königsberg as a younger colleague of Immanuel Kant, and was a disciple of Christian August Crusius [bio].
Wlochatius matriculated at the Königsberg university on 21 September 1759, received his magister degree and habilitated ten years later, and began offering lectures on philosophy. It is not known whether, as a student, he had attended any of Kant’s classes, but his interest in the philosophy of Crusius suggests he would have favored courses either from the recently appointed full professor of logic and metaphysics, F. J. Buck [bio], who lectured from Crusius’s textbooks in both of his public lecture courses (logic, metaphysics), or from Daniel Weymann [bio].
From 1772 until 1784 Wlochatius served as second inspector of the college and the Alumnat (the subsidized student dormitory and cafeteria) [glossary], and as such was next in line for an associate professorship in philosophy, which he received in 1795. In August of 1786 he applied for the full professorship of mathematics made vacant by the death of F. J. Buck, and although his application was supported by some eighty to ninety students petitioning Berlin on his behalf, the position was instead filled by Kant’s close friend Johann Schultz [bio].
Johann Daniel Metzger, a contemporary professor of medicine and a historian of the university, described Wlochatius as a diligent linguist whose career had likely been stymied because of his Crusian sympathies. A longer biography of Wlochatius is also available. [Sources: Goldbeck 1782, 88; Goldbeck 1783, 2: 116; Baczko 1790, 655; Hamberger 1800, 8: 580; 1812, 16: 257; Metzger 1804b, 68; Bornhak 1900, 87-88; Stark 1999, 113-62; Oberhausen/Pozzo 1999, 560]
Abraham Wolf
1705: Matriculation (Halle).
1708: Teaching at the Collegium Fridericianum.
1717 (Nov 11): Magister (Königsberg).
1717-26: Assoc. Prof. of Oriental Languages (Königsberg).*
1721: Inspector of the Collegium Fridericianum. (Goldbeck: 1715.)
1725 (Aug 30): Dr. of Theology; 6th Full Prof. of Theology (Königsberg).
1727 (Apr 21): Pastor at the Alstadt Church and Consistory Advisor.
Also: Wolff. Born (Apr 1680) in Cabelitz (by Magdeburg), died (20 Jun 1731) in Königsberg; the son of a pastor. Studied under Francke at Halle and taught at the orphanage. In 1708 he became acquainted with Lysius at Königsberg and, with Francke’s permission, remained there. Promoted to Dr. of Theology and a full professorship in theology, where he taught while Knutzen was a student. Listed in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999] under Philosophy until SS 1726, and under Theology beginning WS 1725/26. His engraving (shown here) is the frontispiece of Lilienthal’s Acta Borussica, vol. 2, 4th issue (1731). [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, 2: 191, 420, 433; Arnoldt 1777, 35; Goldbeck 1782, 210; Pisanski 1886, 637; APB; Klemme 1994, 5] [last update: 19 Jan 2023]
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