Johann Daniel Overbeck (23 June 1715,

Rethem Rethem () is a town in the Heidekreis in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Aller, approx. 25 km southwest of Bad Fallingbostel, and 18 km southeast of Verden. The town was the scene of heavy fighting over the period ...

- 3 August 1802, in

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 ...

) was an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and Rector at 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 ...

Biography

He was the son of the

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

, . He and his two brothers attended the in

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

. His parents could not afford the fees for all three sons to continue their education, so he was already working as a tutor while attending the Katharineum. In 1734, he began studying theology at the

University of Helmstedt The University of Helmstedt (; official Latin name: ''Academia Julia'', "Julius University") was a university in Helmstedt in the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that existed from 1576 until 1810. History Founded by and named after Duke Juli ...

, where

Johann Lorenz von Mosheim Johann Lorenz von Mosheim or Johann Lorenz Mosheim (9 October 1693 – 9 September 1755) was a German Lutheran church historian. Biography He was born at Lübeck on 9 October 1693 or 1694. After studying at the '' gymnasium'' of Lübeck, he ent ...

hired him as a private tutor to help defray his tuition. In 1743, he became a (Vice-Principal) in

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the Harz (district), district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg becam ...

. He had held that position for only a year, when he succeeded as at the Katharineum. Managing the was among his official duties. In 1753, he became the Konrektor there and, ten years later, succeeded as Rector. He held that position until his retirement in 1795. In 1754, he married Charlotte Chüden (1725-1802), second daughter of the Court Physician, Christian Friedrich Chüden (1686-1747). They had two daughters and a son, of which only the youngest daughter survived. He never acknowledged the changes brought about by the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

, either personally or professionally, so the Katharineum's prestige had reached a low point by the end of the 18th century. He himself remained highly respected. The

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

awarded him an honorary Doctorate in 1793. The poet and

Bürgermeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

of Lübeck,

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 ...

, was his nephew.

Sources

* Christian Adolph Overbeck: ''Leben Herrn Johann Daniel Overbecks, weyland Doctors der Theologie und Rectors des Lübeckischen Gymnasiums. Von einem nahen Verwandten, und vormaligen Schüler des Verewigten.'' Lübeck: Römhild, 1803 * Alken Bruns: "Johann Daniel Overbeck". In: ''Lübecker Lebensläufe'', Neumünster 1993, pp.290–292. * "Overbeck (Johann Daniel)" in: Johann Samuel Ersch, Johann Gottfried Gruber, Moritz Hermann Eduard Meier, Hermann Brockhaus, Johann Georg Heinrich Hassel, A. G. Müller, August Leskien, ''

Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste The () was a 19th-century German encyclopaedia published by Johann Samuel Ersch and Johann Gottfried Gruber, therefore also known as the ''Ersch-Gruber''. One of the most ambitious encyclopaedia projects ever, it remains uncompleted. It wa ...

'', Vol.3, 1836, pp.32–36 * (Nebeneintrag im Artikel zu Christian Adolph Overbeck) * Isabel Sellheim: "Die Familie des Malers Friedrich Overbeck (1789–1869) in genealogischen Übersichten". In: ''Deutsches Familienarchiv''. Vol. 104, Neustadt an der Aisch 1989, , GW

External links

* 1715 births 1802 deaths German theologians German evangelicals School administrators People from Heidekreis {{Germany-theologian-stub