Abel Jacob Gerhard Seyler (1756–1805), also known as Abel Seyler the Younger, was a German scholar, pharmacist,

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and a member of the original

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...

order. Described as highly erudite, he was court pharmacist in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

from 1791 to 1803, and also owned the famous Andreae & Co. court pharmacy in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

with his two siblings as co-owners from 1793 to 1803. He was the oldest son of the Swiss-born banker turned theatre principal

Abel Seyler Abel Seyler (23 August 1730, Liestal – 25 April 1800, Rellingen) was a Swiss-born theatre director and former merchant banker, who was regarded as one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe. He played a pivotal role in the deve ...

and his first wife Sophie Elisabeth Andreae, and was a maternal grandson of the wealthy Hanover court pharmacist Leopold Andreae (1686–1730). He was a brother of the Hamburg banker

Ludwig Erdwin Seyler Ludwig Erdwin Seyler (15 May 1758 – 26 October 1836; often known as ''L.E. Seyler'') was a German banker, merchant and politician. He was by marriage a member of the Hanseatic Berenberg banking dynasty, and was a partner in the Hamburg firm Jo ...

and of Sophie Marie Katharina Seyler (1762–1833), who was married to the ''

Sturm und Drang ''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...

'' poet

Johann Anton Leisewitz Johann Anton Leisewitz (born 9 May 1752 in Hanover, died 10 September 1806 in Braunschweig) was a German lawyer and dramatic poet, and a central figure of the Sturm und Drang era. He is best known for his play '' Julius of Taranto'' (1776), that in ...

. After the death of their mother in 1764, he and his siblings grew up in Hanover with their uncle, the natural scientist

Johann Gerhard Reinhard Andreae Johann Gerhard Reinhard Andreae (ca. 17 December 1724 – 1 May 1793), often known as J.G.R. Andreae or I.G.R. Andreae, was a Hanoverian natural scientist, chemist, geologist, court pharmacist (''Hofapotheker'') and alchemist in the Age of En ...

. From 1777, he studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

and the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

. He subsequently worked as a pharmacist in Hanover. In 1791, he was appointed as court pharmacist in

, a position he held until he retired in 1803. After the death of their uncle, he and his siblings inherited the Andreae & Co. pharmacy, and they appointed Philipp Friedrich David Murray (1770–1828) as its administrator. With a ducal privilege, Andreae & Co. was sold to Johann Ludewig Wilhelm Gruner in 1803. On 24 October 1776 he joined the masonic lodge ''Zum schwarzen Bär'' in Hanover, and became Worshipful Master in 1778. He was acquainted with the

's founder

Adam Weishaupt Johann Adam Weishaupt (; 6 February 1748 – 18 November 1830)''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'Vol. 41, p. 539Engel, Leopold. ''Geschichte des Illuminaten-ordens''. Berlin: H. Bermühler Verlag, 1906.van Dülmen, Richard. ''Der Geheimbund der Ill ...

, and joined the Illuminati order in

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 ...

no later than 1784. His religious name was "Petrus Abaelardus," in honour of the medieval French scholastic philosopher

Peter Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...

." His father was also a prominent figure in German freemasonry in the 18th century. In his first marriage, he had two daughters. After the death of his first wife, he married Caroline (Augusta Louise) Klügel, a daughter of the mathematician and physicist Georg Simon Klügel, and they had one son, the priest Georg Seyler. The principal founder of biochemistry and molecular biology,

Felix Hoppe-Seyler Ernst Felix Immanuel Hoppe-Seyler (''né'' Felix Hoppe; 26 December 1825 – 10 August 1895) was a German physiologist and chemist, and the principal founder of the disciplines of biochemistry and molecular biology. Biography Hoppe-Seyler was b ...

, was an adopted son of his son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seyler, Abel the Younger 1756 births 1805 deaths German Freemasons University of Strasbourg alumni University of Göttingen alumni Scientists from Hamburg Abel the Younger German pharmacists