Johann Matthias Schröckh (July 26, 1733 – August 1, 1808) was an Austrian-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 ...

and literary scholar born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He was a grandson to

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

preacher Matthias Bel (1684–1749). In 1751 he began his studies 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 had as instructors,

church historian Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of th ...

Johann Lorenz von Mosheim (1693–1755) and Orientalist Johann David Michaelis (1717–1791). He continued his education at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

, earning his master's degree in 1755. During the following year he received his habilitation, and in 1762 became an associate professor of

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. Later he relocated to the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

, where in 1775 he was appointed professor of history. Known for his prodigious literary output, Schröckh was the author of acclaimed works involving

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'' ...

church history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

, history books for children, biographical studies, et al. His main work involved the 35-volume ''Christliche Kirchengeschichte'' (Christian Church History, 1768–1803) and its sequel ''Christliche Kirchengeschichte seit der Reformation'' (Christian Church History since the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

1804–1812, 10 volumes), with the last two volumes being prepared by

Heinrich Gottlieb Tzschirner Heinrich Gottlieb Tzschirner (14 November 1778 – 17 February 1828) was a German Protestant theologian born in Mittweida, Saxony. He studied theology at the University of Leipzig, receiving his habilitation in 1800 with assistance from Dresd ...

(1778–1828).

Selected publications

* ''Abbildungen und Lebensbeschreibungen berühmter Gelehrten'' (Images and

biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of famous scholars), 1764 * ''Lehrbuch der allgemeinen Weltgeschichte zum Gebrauche bei dem ersten Unterrichte der Jugend'' (Textbook of general

world history Human history or world history is the record of humankind from prehistory to the present. Early modern human, Modern humans evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago and initially lived as hunter-gatherers. They Early expansions of hominin ...

for use as first lessons for young people), 1774 * ''Historia religionis et ecclesiae christianae'', 1777 * ''Allgemeine Weltgeschichte für Kinder'' (General world history for children), 1779-1784 * ''Einleitung zur Universalhistorie: Umarbeitung von Hilmar Curas'' (Introduction of universal history: revision of Hilmar Curas), 1757 * ''Christliche Kirchengeschichte'' (Christian church history); 35 volumes, 1768–1803 * ''Christliche Kirchengeschichte seit der Reformation'' (Christian church history since the Reformation); with HG Tzschirner, 1804–1812.

References

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English translation
* ''Parts of this article are based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.'' 1733 births 1808 deaths Writers from Vienna German historians of religion 18th-century Austrian historians Historians of Christianity Academic staff of the University of Wittenberg Academic staff of Leipzig University German male non-fiction writers {{Germany-academic-bio-stub