Johann Christoph Gatterer (13 July 1727 – 5 April 1799) was a German

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

who was a native of Lichtenau. He was the father of

cameralist Cameralism (German: ''Kameralismus'') was a German school of public finance, administration and economic management in the 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed at strong management of a centralized economy for the benefit mainly of the sta ...

Christoph Wilhelm Jacob Gatterer Christoph Wilhelm Jacob Gatterer (December 2, 1759 – September 11, 1838) was a German cameralist and natural historian born in Göttingen. He was the son of historian Johann Christoph Gatterer (1727–1799). He studied natural sciences and mi ...

(1759–1838) and poet Magdalena Philippine Engelhard (1756–1831). He was a member of the

Göttingen school of history The Göttingen school of history was a group of historians associated with a particular style of historiography located at the University of Göttingen in the late 18th century. The University of Göttingen was the original centre of the " Geschi ...

. From 1747 he studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at Altdorf, where his interest later changed to history. In 1752 he became a school teacher of history and

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, and in 1756 gained his professorship in

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. In 1759 he was appointed professor of history at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, where he remained for the next forty years. Gatterer was a pioneer of "

universal history Universal history may refer to: * Universal history (genre), a literary genre **''Jami' al-tawarikh'', 14th-century work of literature and history, produced by the Mongol Ilkhanate in Persia ** Universal History (Sale et al), ''Universal History'' ...

", and with fellow

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

historian

August Ludwig von Schlözer August Ludwig von Schlözer (5 July 1735, in Gaggstatt – 9 September 1809, in Göttingen) was a German historian and pedagogist who laid foundations for the critical study of Russian medieval history. He was a member of the Göttingen schoo ...

(1735–1809) he was instrumental in developing a modern,

hermeneutical Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. As necessary, hermeneutics may include the art of understanding and communication. ...

approach to history. He believed that historical events needed to be systematically arranged by describing their causal relationships, rather than simply providing a chronology of events. Gatterer used the phrase ''nexus rerum universalis'' to represent "a universal connection of things in the world". His focus dealt largely with ancillary disciplines such as

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

diplomatics Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents, especially historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, pr ...

, and

physical geography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...

, and he treated these subjects from a modern scientific viewpoint. Gatterer promoted his ideas on these subjects in the journals ''Allgemeine historische Bibliothek'' (1767–1771) and ''Historisches Journal'' (1772–1781). Since 1954 the "Johann Christoph-Gatterer Medal" is awarded by the ''Genealogisch-Heraldische Gesellschaft Göttingen'' (GHGG) for scientific achievements in the field of genealogy and heraldry. In 1785 Gatterer estimated that the time span from Creation to the

birth of Christ The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Matthew and Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Roman-controlled Judea, that his mother, Mary, was engaged to a man named J ...

to be 4181 years.

Selected works

* ''Handbuch der neuesten Genealogie und Heraldik'', 1750 – Handbook on the latest genealogy and heraldry. * ''Johann Christoph Gatterers ... Abriss der Heraldik'', 1766 – Outline on heraldry. * ''Johann Christoph Gatterers Abriss der Chronologie'', 1777 – Outline on

chronology Chronology (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , , ; and , ''wikt:-logia, -logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the deter ...

. * ''Abriss der Genealogie'', 1788 – Outline on genealogy. * ''Johann Christoph Gatterer's Abriss der Diplomatik'', 1798 – Outline on diplomatics. * ''Johann Christoph Gatterer's Praktische Diplomatik'', 1799 – Practical diplomatics.Most widely held works by Johann Christoph Gatterer
WorldCat Identities

References

(biography of Johann Christoph Gatterer) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gatterer, Johann Christoph 18th-century German historians Academic staff of the University of Göttingen 1727 births 1799 deaths People from Ansbach (district) German male non-fiction writers