Johann Georg Krünitz

Johann Georg Krünitz ( born March 28, 1728 in Berlin, † December 20, 1796 ) was an important German encyclopedist, lexicographer, scientist and physician. Of particular value is his contribution to Oeconomischen encyclopedia.

Life

Johann Georg Krünitz is the son of the merchant Georg Christoph Krünitz. He studied from 1747 in Halle ( Saale), Göttingen and Frankfurt ( Oder), medicine and natural sciences. After receiving his doctorate in 1749 ( Thesis: De matrimonio multorum morborum remedio ) he was in Frankfurt ( Oder) first worked as a doctor. In 1752 he married Anna Sophie Lehmann. In 1759 he settled in Berlin, where he practiced until 1776 as a doctor. Thereafter he devoted himself exclusively to the encyclopedia.

After Anna Sophie had died in 1780, married Krünitz 1786 in second marriage Wilhelmine Charlotte Hall, the daughter of the economist John Samuel Hall. He died in 1796 - makabererweise while working for Keyword corpse in the band 73

Work

After much work as a translator, writer and editor of works from the fields of science, medicine, and "economy " he was entrusted by the bookseller and publisher Joachim Pauli to draw up an encyclopedia, which was initially planned as a translation and summary of two French-language encyclopedias. From the first book published in 1773, the originals by far surpassing piece of work, however, began to develop. By no later than the fifth volume, published in 1775, from which it was carried on by means of a newly designed list of lemmas, Krünitz ' Oeconomische encyclopedia is to be regarded as an independent work.

Krünitz who possessed a broad knowledge base, good language skills, immense hard work and last but not least an extensive private library of about 15,000 volumes, could complete the first 72 volumes themselves. The Encyclopedia was continued after his death by several editors and until 1858 concluded with the 242 band. It is still regarded as an important source for business and technology of the time between the Enlightenment and industrialization, although the last editor, Carl Otto Hoffmann, the work in consciousness ended, that it would no longer meet the needs of his time.

The General German Biography from 1883 August Hirsch writes in a tone that it now appears that the performance of the professional author Krünitz little appropriate: