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Anton Friedrich Büsching (27 September 172428 May 1793) was a German
geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
, historian, educator and theologian. His ''Erdbeschreibung'' ("Earth description") was the first geographical work of any scientific merit. He also did significant work on behalf of education.


Biography

He was born at
Stadthagen Stadthagen () is the capital of the district of Landkreis Schaumburg, Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km east of Minden and 40 km west of Hanover. The city consists of the districts Brandenburg, Enzen ...
in
Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also called Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807 and a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present-day state of Lower Saxony, with its capi ...
, on the 27 September 1724. In his youth, he was harshly treated by his father, but a clergyman of the name of Hauber, pleased with his talents, undertook to give him free instruction, and afterwards enabled him to continue his studies at Halle. There, by application and good conduct, he acquired numerous friends, and in 1748 he was appointed tutor in the family of the count zu Lynar, who was then going as ambassador to
St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. On the way to St. Petersburg, Büsching noticed the defective state of geographical science, and he resolved to devote his life to its improvement. Leaving the count's family at the first opportunity, he went to reside at
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, and devoted himself entirely to this new pursuit. In 1752 he published his brief ''Description of the Counties of Schleswig and Holstein'' as a specimen of what he hoped to do. In 1754 he moved to Göttingen. While at Göttingen, he married the poet Christiana Dilthey. Here a work in which he dissented from some of the Lutheran tenets lost him the appointment in 1757 to the theological chair for which he had become a candidate, but he was appointed professor of philosophy. In 1761 he accepted an invitation to minister to a Protestant German congregation at St Petersburg. There he organized a German-language secondary school which, under him, soon became one of the most flourishing in the north of Europe. A disagreement with Marshal Münich led him, in spite of the empress's offers of high advancement, to return to central Europe in 1765. Back in Germany, he first went to live at Altona, but next year he was called to superintend the famous Greyfriars Gymnasium (), which had been formed at
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
by
Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...
. Here he superintended the progress of every pupil, and inspected the minutest details connected with the prosperity of the institution, besides giving lectures on the history of the arts and sciences. His writing and example given a new impulse to education throughout Prussia, and the government was so sensible of the value of his services that they allowed his extensive correspondence to pass free of postage. He died in Berlin of dropsy, on 28 May 1793.


Works

Büsching's works on geography, history, education and religion, enumerated by Meusel in his ''Lexicon of German Authors'', amount to more than a hundred. His reputation chiefly rests on his geographical works, for although he did not possess the genius of
D'Anville Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville (; born in Paris 11 July 169728 January 1782) was a French geographer and cartographer who greatly improved the standards of map-making. D'Anville became cartographer to the king, who purchased his cartographic ...
, he may be regarded as the creator of statistical geography. His
magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...
is the ''Erdebeschreibung'', in seven parts, of which the first four, covering Europe, were published in 1754–1761, and were translated into several languages (e.g. into English with a preface by Murdoch, in six volumes, London, 1762). In 1768 the fifth part was published, being the first volume upon Asia, containing Asiatic Turkey and Arabia. It displays an immense extent of research, and is generally considered as his masterpiece. Büsching was also the editor of a valuable collection entitled ''Magazin für die neue Historie und Geographie'' (23 vols. 4to, 1767–1793), and also of ''Wochentliche Nachrichten von neuen Landkarten'' (Berlin, 1773–1787). His works on education enjoyed great repute. In biography he wrote a number of articles for the ''Magazin'', and a valuable collection of ''Beiträge zur Lebensgeschichte merkwürdiger Personen'' (6 vols., 1783–1789), including an elaborate life of
Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...
. His theological writings were less successful. When he died, Matthias Christian Sprengel and several other geographers continued his work.


Family

His son
Johann Gustav Gottlieb Büsching Johann Gustav Gottlieb Büsching (19 September 1783 – 4 May 1829) was a German antiquary. His knowledge of subjects pertaining to Germany in the Middle Ages was notable. Biography He was born in Berlin, the son of Anton Friedrich Büsching, a g ...
was a noted antiquarian.


Notes


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Busching, Anton Friedrich 1724 births 1793 deaths People from Stadthagen People from Schaumburg-Lippe German geographers Academic staff of the University of Göttingen 18th-century German educators Danish geographers Geographers from the Kingdom of Prussia