Fields Ethics Name Friedrich Leibniz | Alma mater Leipzig University | |
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Spouse unnamed wife, unnamed wife, Catharina Schmuck | ||
Institutions University of Leipzig Children Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz | ||
Friedrich Leibniz (or Leibnütz; 1597–1652) was a Lutheran lawyer and a notary, registrar and professor of moral philosophy within Leipzig University. He was the father of Gottfried Leibniz.
Biography
Leibniz was born in Altenburg, the son of Ambrosious Leibniz, a civil servant, and a Leipzig noblewoman named Anna Deuerlin.
He completed his master's degree at the University of Leipzig during 1622 and became an actuary in administration at the University. 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. A subsequent 1644 marriage to Catharina Schmuck, a daughter of a well known lawyer (or professor of law) produced a son, the polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.
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. He possessed a collection of books of ancient source. He died in Leipzig.
Leibniz is notable because his mathematical "descendants," which include Carl Friedrich Gauss, number more than 119,000.