Lessing is a German surname of Slavic origin. The original Sorbian form, ''Lěsnik'', means either "forest dweller" or "woodman", ''lěs'' meaning "wood forest". People with the surname Lessing include a German family of writers, artists, musicians and politicians who can be traced back to a Michil Lessigk, mentioned in 1518 as being a linen weaver in Jahnsdorf, near

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

. The family includes: * (1693–1770) pastor primarus in

Kamenz Kamenz () or Kamjenc ( Sorbian, ) is a town (''Große Kreisstadt'') in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany. Until 2008 it was the administrative seat of Kamenz District. The town is known as the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Gotth ...

, well respected, published theologian, translator and father of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781) and Karl Gotthelf Lessing (1740–1812). Johann Gottfried's father Theophilus Lessing (1647–1735) was mayor of Kamenz and

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

's (the composer and pianist, 1810–1856) great-great-great-great-uncle, Johanne Sophie Susanna Lessing (1745–1818, daughter of Carl Heinrich Lessing 1713, a trumpeter) his grandmother. *

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (; ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a German philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the dev ...

(1729–1781), one of the most prominent philosophers of the Enlightenment era, recognised as the world's first dramaturg, Germany's first dramatist and comedy playwright, champion for

religious tolerance Religious tolerance or religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, ...

, friend of

Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or 'J ...

, critic for the ''

Vossische Zeitung The (''Voss's Newspaper'') was a nationally known Berlin newspaper that represented the interests of the liberal middle class. It was also generally regarded as Germany's national newspaper of record. In the Berlin press it held a special role d ...

'', translator and Shakespearean scholar. Today his own works appear as prototypes of the later developed bourgeois German drama. Scholars generally see '' Miss Sara Sampson'' and ''

Emilia Galotti ''Emilia Galotti'' () is a play in five acts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), which premiered on 8 March 1772 in Braunschweig, Brunswick (''Braunschweig'' in German). The work is an example of German ''bürgerliches Trauerspiel'' (bourg ...

'' as the first bourgeois tragedies, '' Minna von Barnhelm'' as the model for many classic German comedies, ''

Nathan the Wise ''Nathan the Wise'' (original German title: , ) is a play by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing from 1779. It is a fervent plea for religious tolerance. It was never performed during Lessing's lifetime and was first performed in 1783 at the Döbbelinsches ...

'' as the first German drama of ideas ("Ideendrama") and his theoretical writings ''Laokoon'' and ''

Hamburg Dramaturgy The ''Hamburg Dramaturgy'' () is a highly influential work on drama by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, written between 1767 and 1769 when he worked as a dramaturg for Abel Seyler's Hamburg National Theatre. It was not originally conceived as a unified ...

'' set the standards for the discussion of aesthetic and literary theoretical principles. * Karl Gotthelf Lessing (1740–1812), Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's (1729–1781) younger brother and his first biographer, comedy playwright, translator, mint director, and owner (through marriage to Marie Friederike Voß, the daughter of ) of the ''Vossische Zeitung''. * Carl Friedrich Lessing (1778–1848), son of Karl Gotthelf Lessing (1740–1812),Review
of ''Die Lehre vom Menschen'' by Carl Friedrich Lessing, in ''Berliner Literarische Zeitung'', volume 2, no. 4, 21 January 1835, column 58 published philosopher, chancellor under Prince Biron von Curland in Polnisch Wartenberg. * Karl Friedrich Lessing (1808–1880), German painter; son of Carl Friedrich Lessing (1778–1848) and great-nephew of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), married to Ida Heuser, niece of painter Henriette Jügel and whose niece Malwine Schroedter (1847–1901) married painter and then director of the

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...

Anton von Werner Anton Alexander von Werner (9 May 18434 January 1915) was a German painter and illustrator, best known for his depictions of the Franco-Prussian War and the Unification of Germany, typical of the Naturalist style. Member of the Akademie der K ...

. *

Christian Friedrich Lessing Christian Friedrich Lessing (10 August 1809 – 13 March 1862) was a German botanist who was a native of Groß Wartenberg, Niederschlesien. He was a brother to painter Carl Friedrich Lessing (1808–1880), and a grandnephew of poet Gotthold Ephr ...

(1809–1862, died and buried in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

, Siberia), physician, botanist and writer; son of Carl Friedrich Lessing (1778–1848) and great-nephew of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781) * Carl Louis Gotthold Ludwig Lessing (1817–1897), modelmaker/designer, wine grower and lecturer; son of Carl Friedrich Lessing (1778–1848) and great-nephew of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), married to Marie von Ammon (1833–1928), granddaughter of , a lawyer in Brussels and later president of the region of Trier, also sister of Clara von Ammon who married , a diplomat between the States and Germany and son of controversial politician (1793–1862) who had been imprisoned for left-wing ideas. * Franziska 'Fanny' Maria Lessing (1818–1901), daughter of Carl Friedrich Lessing and great-niece of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), married to German painter (1807–1884). * (1827–1895), publicist, owner of the ''Vossische Zeitung'' and Schloss Meseberg; son of Carl Friedrich Lessing (1778–1848) and great-nephew of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781). * (1861–1919), son of Carl Robert Lessing (1827–1895), landowner and liberal politician. *

Otto Lessing (sculptor) Otto Lessing (24 February 1846 – 22 November 1912) was a prominent German Historicist (art), Historicist sculptor whose work largely shaped the appearance of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the son of history an ...

(1846–1912), German sculptor, photographer and writer, gifted pianist, son of Karl Friedrich Lessing (1808–1880), married to Sigrid Gude, daughter of Norwegian painter Hans Gude. * Bertha Lessing (1844–1914) daughter of Karl Friedrich Lessing (1808–1880), married to royal court actor and dramatist Karl Koberstein; their son Hans Koberstein became a painter. * (1852–1916) landscape painter; son of Karl Friedrich Lessing (1808–1880). * (1856–1930), painter; son of Karl Friedrich Lessing (1808–1880). * Kolja Lessing (born 1961), German pianist, violinist, composer and music professor at the Stuttgart Musik Hochschule; great-great-great-great-great-nephew of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781). Lessing is also the surname of: *

Doris Lessing Doris May Lessing ( Tayler; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British novelist. She was born to British parents in Qajar Iran, Persia, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where ...

(1919–2013), British novelist and the 2007 Nobel Prize laureate in literature; once married to Gottfried Lessing * Gottfried Lessing (1914–1979), German diplomat *

Erich Lessing Erich Lessing (13 July 1923 – 29 August 2018) was an Austrian photographer. Lessing became a full member of Magnum Photos in 1955 and was a contributor since 1979. His portraits of poets, musicians, physicists and astronomers were published in a ...

(1923–2018), Austrian ''Magnum'' photographer * Feodor Yulievich Levinson-Lessing (1861–1939), Russian geologist * Lawrence Lessing, American journalist *

Madge Lessing Madge Lessing (27 November 1873 – 14 August 1966) was a British stage actress and singer, Pantomime, panto principal boy and postcard beauty of Edwardian musical comedy who had a successful career in the West End of London, West End in Lo ...

(1862–1935), English actress * Roland Lessing (born 1978), Estonian biathlete * Simon Lessing (born 1971), British athlete * Theodor Lessing (1872–1933), German-Jewish philosopher

Similar names

* Lessig

References

{{Surname German-language surnames