Christian Gerhard Overbeck (5 January 1784,

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

– 29 January 1846, Lübeck) was a German

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

and judge.

Life and work

Overbeck was born on 5 January 1784. He was the eldest of five children born to

Christian Adolph Overbeck Christian Adolph Overbeck (21 August 1755 in Lübeck – 9 March 1821 in Lübeck) was a German poet, and the Burgomaster of Lübeck. Life Family Overbeck was the son of the lawyer, Georg Christian Overbeck (1713–1786) and his wife Eleo ...

, a lawyer, politician and poet. His brother,

Friedrich Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

, became a painter; one of the founders of the

Nazarene movement The epithet Nazarene was adopted by a group of early 19th-century German Romantic painters who aimed to revive spirituality in art. The name Nazarene came from a term of derision used against them for their affectation of a biblical manner of c ...

. After graduating from the

Katharineum The Katharineum zu Lübeck is a humanistic gymnasium founded 1531 in the Hanseatic city Lübeck, Germany. In 2006 the 475th anniversary of this Latin school was celebrated with several events. The school uses the buildings of a former Franciscan m ...

in 1802, he studied law at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

, primarily with

Anton Friedrich Justus Thibaut Anton Friedrich Justus Thibaut (4 January 1772Garratt, James. (2002) ''Palestrina and the German Romantic Imagination'', Cambridge University Press. p.40. .20 March 1840), was a German jurist and musician. Early life He was born at Hamelin, in Ha ...

. There, he studied philosophy and history and became part of the social circle around the bookseller,

Carl Friedrich Ernst Frommann Carl Friedrich Ernst Frommann (14 September 1765, Züllichau12 June 1837, Jena) was a German publisher and bookseller. Life and work His father, Nathanael Siegismund Frommann (1736-1786), was also a bookseller. He received his training in Ber ...

. When Thibaut moved to the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

in 1805, Overbeck followed him. He also studied with Georg Arnold Heise, and received his Doctorate in 1806. In 1807, he was appointed Justitiar at , followed by an appointment as

Syndic ''Syndic'' (; Greek: ) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a university, institution or other corporation, entrusted with special functions or p ...

at Schonenfahrer College. Due to Lübeck's recent incorporation into the French Empire, he was also able to join the local

Tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

as a "Juge suppléant" and received permission to work at the Court of Appeals in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. During this time, he published one of his most important legal writings; ''Über die Fortdauer der Gültigkeit älterer Hypotheken auf Mobilien, namentlich der Hypothekwechsel, nach neuerem Recht'' (On the continuation of the validity of older mortgages on chattels, namely the change of mortgage, according to more recent law, 1812). In 1810, he married Augusta Rehbenitz, sister of the painter,

Theodor Rehbenitz Theodor Markus Rehbenitz (2 September 1791, Borstel, Schleswig-Holstein, Borstel - 19 February 1861, Kiel) was a German painter and draftsman, associated with the Nazarene movement. Life and work He was born on an estate where his father se ...

. They had five children, but only one outlived him; Christian Theodor Overbeck, who also entered the legal profession and served in the Lübeck Senate. At the end of the French period, in 1813, he became an

actuary An actuary is a professional with advanced mathematical skills who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require investment management, asset management, ...

at the District Court. In 1822, he was elected to the ''

Oberappellationsgericht der vier Freien Städte The (), since 1867 the (), seated in Lübeck was an appeals court of the German Confederation and the North German Confederation with territorial jurisdiction for Bremen, Free City of Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Free City of Lübeck, L� ...

'' (High Court of Appeal of the Four Free Cities) and began his duties on 28 May 1824. In 1833, he received support for becoming the successor to as , but this effort was unsuccessful. Over the course of his career, he was involved with and created several charitable societies; beginning in 1807, when he became a major sponsor of the "

Gesellschaft zur Beförderung gemeinnütziger Tätigkeit The ("Society for the Furtherance of Charitable Activities") is Lübeck's oldest charitable organization. History It was the preacher at St. Peter's Church, Lübeck (and later lawyer) Ludwig Suhl (1752–1819) and his friends Christian Adolph ...

" (Society for the Furtherance of Charitable Activities). He would serve as its Director twice; from 1830 to 1833, and 1836 to 1839. He founded an industrial school, two kindergartens, and the "Verein zur Fürsorge für entlassene Strafgefangene" (Association for the welfare of released prisoners, 1840). Overbeck died on 29 January 1846.

Life and work

Published works

References

Bibliography

Further reading