Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1799) was a notable German philosopher, physicist, and writer, renowned for his contributions to both science and literature during the Enlightenment. Born as one of seventeen children to a Lutheran pastor, Lichtenberg faced significant challenges, including a malformed spine that made him a target for ridicule. Despite these hardships, he approached life with a sense of humor, which is reflected in his notebook writings. He attended Göttingen University, where he studied mathematics and natural sciences, ultimately becoming a popular professor of physics.
Lichtenberg is credited with several scientific innovations, including the discovery of “Lichtenberg figures,” patterns created by electrical discharges, and the articulation of thermography principles. In addition to his scientific work, he is recognized for his literary contributions, particularly his aphorisms which were published posthumously in a collection titled "Vermischte Schriften." His works also include satirical pieces that critique contemporary figures in the field of physiognomy. Lichtenberg’s life was marked by personal relationships, notable both for their intensity and the loss he experienced, shaping his perspectives on life and his creative output. His legacy continues to influence both scientific thought and German literature.
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Subject Terms
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
Scientist
- Born: July 1, 1742
- Birthplace: Ober-Ramstadt, Hessen, Germany
- Died: February 24, 1799
- Place of death: Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Biography
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg was one of the seventeen children born to Lutheran pastor Johann Conrad Lichtenberg and his wife, Henrietta Conrad (Eckard) Lichtenberg; George Christoph was one of the few children to survive into adulthood. However, he did not survive childhood unscathed and began suffering from a malformed spine rather early in life. The hunchback that resulted made Lichtenberg an easy target for teasing and ridicule, but it seems that such experiences did not leave him embittered; rather, in his notebook writings, he approached and coped with his misfortune with humor.
Lichtenberg’s father passed away when the boy was nine years old, and Lichtenberg’s mother died in 1764, just one year after Lichtenberg enrolled at Göttingen University to study mathematics and natural sciences. While a student, Lichtenberg was published for the first time: his work appeared in Hannoverische Magazin. Upon finishing his degree, the writer tutored for three years and began studying the philosophy of Kant. He would later focus on the philosophy of Spinoza.
When Lichtenberg was thirty-five years old, in 1777, he met thirteen-year-old Maria Stechard, a weaver’s daughter who became Lichtenberg’s daily housekeeper. The two began a relationship, and Stechard moved in with the writer in 1780; she died two years later. Lichtenberg was distraught over his young lover’s death, but he then fell in love with another young woman, Margarethe Kellner; they began living together in 1786 and wed in 1789. Their marriage resulted in six children and lasted until Lichtenberg’s death, which followed years of ill health and heavy drinking.
Lichtenberg rose from professor of physics at Göttingen in 1770 to professor ordinarius in 1775. The devotee of Enlightenment thinking and popular professor, who drew students from all over Europe, taught physics, mathematics, and astronomy and is known for his innovations both in science and in literature. He articulated the principle of thermography and discovered what came to be known as “Lichtenberg figures,” patterns created by powder on surfaces under specific electrical-charge conditions. His best-known literary contributions are his aphorisms, which he introduced into German literature and which were not published until after the writer’s death. He penned the statements privately in his notebooks, which he called “Südelbücher” (waste books), and they first appeared in Vermischte Schriften, published in nine volumes between 1800 and 1805. His impressive satires included Über Physiognomik, wider die Physiognomen, a 1778 take on Physiognomische Fragmente by Johann Caspar Lavater, and Von Konrad Photorin (1773), also directed at Lavater.