Johann Friedrich Ludwig Wachler (15 April 1767,

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

– 4 April 1838, Breslau) was a German

literary historian The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment or education to the reader, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication of these pie ...

and

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 ...

. He was the father-in-law of

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries. * The ...

Franz Passow Franz Ludwig Carl Friedrich Passow (20 September 1786 – 11 March 1833) was a German classical scholar and lexicographer. Biography He was born at Ludwigslust in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In 1807 he was appointed to the professorship o ...

Biography

Wachler studied theology from 1784 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 ...

, but due to consequences stemming from a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

, he was forced to leave Jena, and subsequently relocated to 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 became a student of

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

. At Göttingen he was a pupil of

Christian Gottlob Heyne Christian Gottlob Heyne (; 25 September 1729 – 14 July 1812) was a German classical scholar and archaeologist as well as long-time director of the Göttingen State and University Library. He was a member of the Göttingen school of history. ...

Ludwig Timotheus Spittler Ludwig Timotheus Spittler (11 November 1752 – 14 March 1810) was a German historian born in Stuttgart. He published works on national, church and political history. He was a member of the Göttingen school of history. Spittler studied at Tübi ...

and Johann Christoph Gatterer. In 1788, Wachler became an associate professor at

Rinteln Rinteln () is a small town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the banks of the Weser river north of the Porta Westfalica. The town of Rinteln is in the broad valley between the hills of the Weserbergland and the North Lippe Bergland. In ...

, where he gave lectures in philology and

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 ...

. In 1790 he was named rector at the gymnasium in

Herford Herford (; ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is situated in the cultural region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) and the Detmold (administrat ...

, and four years later returned to Rinteln as a professor of theology. In 1797 he succeeded Johann Matthäus Hassencamp as editor of the magazine, "''Annalen der neuesten theologischen Litteratur und Kirchengeschichte''" (since 1798 known as the "''Neuen theologischen Annalen''").ADB:Wachler, Ludwig
at

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

In 1801, Wachler was appointed 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 ...

at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

, where he later attained the chair of history and was also named a professor of theology. In 1815 he was appointed chair of history at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Selected works

* ''Grundriss einer Encyklopädie der theologischen Wissenschaften'', 1795 – Encyclopedia of theological science. * ''Geschichte der historischen Forschung und Kunst : seit der Wiederherstellung der litterarischen Cultur in Europa'', (2 volumes 1812, 1820) – History of historical research and art, since the restoration of literary culture in Europe. * ''Vorlesungen über die Geschichte der teutschen Nationallitteratur'' (2 volumes 1818, 1819) – Lectures on the history of German national literature. * ''Lehrbuch der Litteraturgeschichte'', 1827 – Textbook of literary history.IDREF.fr
bibliography

References

1767 births 1838 deaths People from Gotha (town) Academic staff of the University of Marburg Academic staff of the University of Breslau German literary historians {{Germany-historian-stub