Karl Heinrich Weizsäcker (11 December 1822 – 13 August 1899) was a German Protestant

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Life and work

Weizsäcker was born in

Öhringen Öhringen (East Franconian: ''Ähringe'') is the largest town in Hohenlohe (district) in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near Heilbronn. Öhringen is on the railline to Schwäbisch Hall and Crailsheim. With a population o ...

near

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

, the son of Sophie (Rößle) and Christian Ludwig Friedrich Weizsäcker. He studied at Tübingen and Berlin. After studying at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

and the

Frederick William University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt, ...

, he became ''

Privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...

'' at

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

in 1847 and professor of

ecclesiastical history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...

and the history of dogma in 1861. From 1856 to 1878 he helped to edit the ''Jahrbücher für deutsche Theologie'', and his elaborate studies ''Untersuchungen über die evangelische Geschichte, ihre Quellen und den Gang ihrer Entwicklung'' (Investigations in the history of the evangelical church, its sources, and its course of development, 1864) and ''Das apostolische Zeitalter der christliche Kirche'' (The Christian Church in the time of the apostles, 1886; Engl. trans. 1894–1895; 3rd edition Leipzig and Tübingen: Mohr, 1901) made him widely known and respected. Weizsäcker's other works include ''Zur Kritik des Barnabas-Briefs'' (1863) and ''Ferdinand Christian Baur'' (1892). In 1861 he succeeded

Ferdinand Christian Baur Ferdinand Christian Baur (; 21 June 1792 – 2 December 1860) was a German Protestant theologian and founder and leader of the (new) Tübingen School of theology (named for the University of Tübingen where Baur studied and taught). Following Hege ...

as professor for history of church and dogma at Tübingen. Later, he became chancellor of the university. Weizsäcker was a

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

critic, and the editor of a theological journal, and distinguished for his learning and lucid style. He died in

in 1899.

Family

In 1848, he married Auguste Sophie Dahm (1824–1884), with whom he had three children: * Sophie (1850 – after 1910), married in 1875 Adolf von Bilfinger (1846-1902) *

Karl von Weizsäcker Karl Hugo Freiherr von Weizsäcker (25 February 1853 – 2 February 1926) was a German politician who served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Württemberg, and a member of the prominent Weizsäcker family. Early life He was born Karl Hugo Weiz ...

(1853–1926), prime minister in the Kingdom of

William II of Württemberg William II (; 25 February 1848 – 2 October 1921) was the last King of Württemberg. He ruled from 6 October 1891 until the dissolution of the kingdom on 30 November 1918. He was the last German ruler to abdicate in the wake of the November Rev ...

* Marie (1857–1939), married in 1875 Paul von Bruns (1846–1916), surgeon

References

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weizsacker, Karl Heinrich 1822 births 1899 deaths People from Öhringen 19th-century German Protestant theologians Karl Heinrich Members of the Württembergian Chamber of Deputies University of Tübingen alumni Academic staff of the University of Tübingen 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers