Friedrich Leibniz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1597 |
| Died | 1652 (aged 54–55) Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire |
| Alma mater | University of Leipzig (M.A., 1622) |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Fritzsche, Dorothea Voigt, Catharina Schmuck |
| Relatives | Gottfried Leibniz (son) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Moral philosophy |
| Institutions | University of Leipzig |
| Notable students | Jakob Thomasius |
Friedrich Leibniz (or Leibnütz; 1597–1652)[1] was a Lutheran[1][2] lawyer and a notary, registrar and professor of moral philosophy within Leipzig University, where is also served as Dean of Philosophy.[1][3][4][5] He was the father of Gottfried Leibniz.
Leibniz was born in Altenberg, Saxony, the son of Ambrosious Leibniz, a civil servant, and a Leipzig noblewoman named Anna Deuerlin.[3]
He completed his master's degree at the University of Leipzig during 1622 and became an actuary in administration at the university.[1] His first marriage in 1625 produced a son, Johann Friedrich, and a daughter, Anna Rosina. He was elected to the chair in moral philosophy at Leipzig in 1640. A childless marriage to a second wife ended with her death 1643.[3][6] A subsequent 1644 marriage to Catharina Schmuck, a daughter of a well known lawyer (or professor of law[5]) produced a son, the polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.[3]
21. Juny am Sontag 1646 Ist mein Sohn Gottfried Wilhelm, post sextam vespertinam 1/4 uff 7 uhr abents zur welt gebohren, im Wassermann.[7][8]
During 1646 Leibniz was vice chairman of the faculty of philosophy and also was Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Leipzig, in addition to employment as actuary.[3] He possessed a collection of books of ancient source.[5] He died in Leipzig.
Eric John Aiton considers Friedrich Leibniz
... a competent though not original scholar, who devoted his time to his offices and to his family as a pious, Christian father.[9]
On the other hand, in an address he delivered in 1646, Friedrich equated Apollo, the Greek god of knowledge, with Lucifer the christian devil, and introduced other variants in Biblical and Greek myths, notably the view of Eve as the she-Python slaughtered by Apollo-Lucifer.[10] Friedrich Leibniz is notable because his mathematical "descendants," which include Carl Friedrich Gauss, number more than 170,000 (largely due to his son).[11]
Leibniz was married three times. His first marriage was on 31 January 1625 to Anna Fritzsche, who died on 14 March 1634 in Leipzig, the daughter of Mag. Benedict Fritzsche. From the marriage came six known children, only two of whom lived to adulthood:
After two years of widowhood, he entered into his second marriage on 24 May 1636 to Dorothea Voigt (18 July 1599, Leipzig- 25 January 1643, Leipzig), the daughter of the Leipzig citizen and bookseller Bartholomäus Voigt (11 April 1564, Halle (Saale)- 18 January 1637, Leipzig) and Maria (née Rambau). The marriage remained childless.
His third marriage was on 21 May 1644 in Leipzig to Catharina Schmuck (5 November 1621, Leipzig- 6 February 1664, Leipzig), the daughter of Professor Dr. jur. and Mag. Phil. Wilhelm Schmuck (1 May 1575, Suhl- 28 December 1634, Leipzig) and Gertraude Lindner, the daughter of Johann Lindner and Elisabeth Clode/Klodt. From the marriage came a son and a daughter:
