Johann Peter Süßmilch or Süssmilch (September 3, 1707 in Zehlendorf – March 22, 1767 in

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 ...

) was a German

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

statistician A statistician is a person who works with Theory, theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private sector, private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, a ...

and demographer. He is most well-known for his work ''The Divine order in the changes in the human sex from birth, death and reproduction of the same'', which was an influential work in

demography Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

and the history of population statistics.

Education and career

He was raised in Brandenburg by his grandparents. From 1716 to 1722, he studied at the College of Berlin where he took an interest in natural history. In 1724, he attended the Anatomical Institute in Berlin. His parents persuaded him to study law at Halle in 1727, but he ultimately lost interest in law and switched his focus to

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. In 1728, he began studying theology and philosophy at Jena. He defended his thesis in 1733. In 1741, he was an army chaplain in the First Silesian War. On Sunday, 13 August 1741, the former field preacher gave his inaugural sermon as pastor of the community Etzin.Eckart Elsner: Süßmilchs time Etzin
/ref> In 1742 he took a post as Provost in the St. Petri parish in Berlin-Cölln. He became a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in 1745. He conversed with

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (; ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a German philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the dev ...

and

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...

. Süßmilch's most important publication on ''The Divine order in the circumstances of the human sex, birth, death and reproduction'', which he wrote in 1741, is regarded as a seminal and pioneering work in

and the history of population statistics. Süssmilch discovered that, in the long term, there is a constant sex ratio of 1,000 female births to 1,050 male births. He saw this as a proof of the Divine working in this World. Due to this work, he can be regarded as one of the founding fathers of demography in Germany. However, he refers in his work to Caspar Neumann's work, who calculated a monthly statistics of deaths by age and death cause already between 1687 and 1691 in Breslau (present-day

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

). Süssmilch also worked on life tables.

Works

*''The Royal Residence of Berlin's Growth and Rapid Construction'', 1752
Digitalisat
*''The Divine order in the changes in the human sex from birth, death and reproduction of the same'', 2 parts, 1761-1762 (Digitalisa
demography/demography/suessmilch_1761 Part 1Part 2
*

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sussmilch, Johann Peter 1707 births 1767 deaths German statisticians German Protestant clergy Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Writers from Berlin People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg University of Jena alumni University of Halle alumni German military chaplains German male writers German demographers