Christian Friedrich Wilkens
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Christian Friedrich Wilkens , according to other sources Wilckens , (born September 29, 1722 in Berlin , † November 9, 1784 in Cottbus ) was a German Protestant theologian and naturalist.
Biography and work
His father was the Prussian councilor and secretary of the General Post Office Chancellery Johann Christoph Wilkens and his wife Maria Christiana Müller, daughter of a government lawyer in Berlin. After private lessons, he was taught first at the Gray Monastery and then at the Joachimsthal School in Berlin. He then studied theology for three years in Halle and returned to Berlin at the age of 22. The father had died shortly before and Christian Friedrich had to earn his living as a tutor. He then came for three years as a teacher at the monastery of Our Dear Women in Magdeburg .
Then he went to Küstrin for 11 years as a field chaplain to the dragoon regiment of the Count of Rothenburg . In his free time he devoted himself to natural history, building a cabinet and a rare collection of books. He married for the first time in 1750, but his wife died after only 8 months. In 1756 he married Charlotta Dorothea Berthold, the eldest daughter of the cantor Johann Thomas Berthold at the Petrikirche in Berlin-Kölln .
He took part in the Seven Years' War with his regiment, was captured in the Battle of Kolin and plundered. Released again, he returned to Berlin via Dresden , where he was appointed a preacher and inspector of churches and schools in Cottbus. His household in Küstrin had been completely destroyed by the attack by the Russians.
In Cottbus he devoted himself to scientific studies in addition to his professional duties. He gained general recognition through his publications and was accepted as an honorary member of the Society of Friends of Natural Sciences in Berlin .
Wilkens had a daughter (Charlotta Dorothee, born 1757), who was married to the field preacher George Wilhelm Graevel.
Fonts
- Ch. F. Wilckens: News of rare fossilizations, mainly of the animal kingdom, which have not yet been described and explained precisely enough, with copper. Drafted in three letters to his patrons and friends. Bey Gottlieb August Lange, Berlin and Stralsund, 1769
literature
- George Wilhelm Grävel: Memorial sermon for Christian Friedrich Wilkens . 1785. Digitized version (PDF; 5.0 MB)
- Brief life story of Inspector Wilkens in Cottbus. In: Writings of the Berlin Society of Friends of Nature Research, Volume 6, Berlin 1785, pp. 436–443
Web links
- Consortium of European Research Libraries : Christian Friedrich Wilkens list of works
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wilkens, Christian Friedrich |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wilckens, Christian Friedrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German theologian and natural scientist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 29, 1722 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 9, 1784 |
| Place of death | cottbus |