Gustav Wilhelm Frank (25 September 1832, in Schleiz – 24 September 1904, in

Hinterbrühl Hinterbrühl () is a town in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is home to the Seegrotte, a system of caves including Europe's largest underground lake. During World War II, a satellite camp of Mauthausen concentra ...

) was a German-Austrian Protestant theologian, known as the author of a multi-volume work on the history of Protestant theology. He studied theology at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

, where his influences included Karl von Hase. In 1859 he obtained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

, and in 1864 became an associate professor at Jena. In 1867 he was appointed a full professor of systematic theology at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

. In 1867 he also became a member of the Austrian Protestant Church Council.Frank, Gustav Wilhelm (1832-1904), Evangelischer Theologe
Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon und biographische Dokumentation In his work, he was concerned with dogmatic-historical issues. He was a representative of philosophical rationalism, and as such, an opponent of religious Supranaturalism.

Selected works

He was the author of numerous articles in the ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) 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 Aca ...

'', that included biographies of religious academics such as: Karl von Hase,

August Tholuck Friedrich August Gottreu Tholuck (30 March 1799 – 10 June 1877), known as August Tholuck, was a German Protestant theologian, pastor, and historian, and church leader. Biography Tholuck was born at Breslau, and educated at the gymnasium and ...

Julius Wegscheider Julius August Ludwig Wegscheider (27 September 177127 January 1849), was a German Protestant theologian. Life Wegscheider was born at Küblingen (now a part of Schöppenstedt, Lower Saxony). He studied theology at the University of Helmstedt, w ...

and

Karl Gottlieb Bretschneider Karl Gottlieb Bretschneider (February 11, 1776 in Gersdorf, Saxony – January 22, 1848 in Gotha, Thuringia) was a German Protestant scholar and theologian from Gersdorf, Saxony. He is noted for, among other things, having planned and founded the ...

. Other works by Frank are: * ''Die Jenaische Theologie'', (1858) – Jena theology. * ''Religionsphilosophie'' (main author

Ernst Friedrich Apelt Ernst Friedrich Apelt (3 March 1812 in Reichenau, Saxony – 27 October 1859 in Oppelsdorf, Upper Lusatia, Saxony) was a German philosopher and entrepreneur. He was a student of Jakob Friedrich Fries, succeeding him at the University of Jena. He w ...

, edited by Gustav Frank, 1860) – Philosophy of religion. * ''Geschichte der protestantischen Theologie'' (4 volumes, 1862–1905) – History of Protestant theology. ** Volume 1: ''Von Luther bis Johann Gerhard'' (1862) – From

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

Johann Gerhard Johannes Gerhard (17 October 1582 – 17 August 1637) was a Lutheran church leader and Lutheran Scholastic theologian during the period of Orthodoxy. Biography He was born in the German city of Quedlinburg. During a dangerous illness, at the ...

. ** Volume 2: ''Von Georg Calixt bis zur Wolff’schen Philosophie'' (1865) – From

Georg Calixtus Georg Calixtus, Kallisøn/Kallisön, or Callisen (14 December 1586 – 19 March 1656) was a German Lutheran theologian who looked to reconcile all Christendom by removing all differences that he deemed "unimportant". Biography Calixtus was born i ...

to Wolffianism. ** Volume 3: ''Geschichte des Rationalismus und seiner Gegensätze'' (1875) – History of

Rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy' ...

and its opposites. ** Volume 4: ''Die Theologie des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts'' (1905, by George Loesche) – Theology of the nineteenth century. * ''Die k. k. evangelisch-theologische Facultät in Wien von ihrer Gründung bis zur Gegenwart'', 1871 – The royal evangelical-theological faculty in Vienna from its foundation to the present. * ''Das Toleranzpatent des Kaisers Joseph II'', 1882 – The Patent of Toleration by Joseph II.Ernst Friedrich Apelt
de.Wikisource.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Gustav 1832 births 1904 deaths People from Schleiz People from the Principality of Reuss-Gera 19th-century German Protestant theologians Austrian Protestant theologians University of Jena alumni Academic staff of the University of Jena Academic staff of the University of Vienna