Gottfried Benedict Funk

Gottfried Benedict Funk (born November 29, 1734 in Hartenstein , † June 18, 1814 in Magdeburg ) was a German educator and consistorial councilor .

Life

Funk was the son of the court and city ​​cantor Gottlieb Funk and received his first lessons from him. In 1747 Funk came to the grammar school in Freiberg near Dresden . Brokered by his father, Funk already worked as a private tutor after finishing school . In 1755 he enrolled at the University of Leipzig to study law.

In the following year, Funk accepted a position as tutor; in the household of the German court preacher Johann Andreas Cramer in Copenhagen . Encouraged by his employer, Funk studied art, oriental languages, philosophy and theology there. In the Cramer house, Funk got to know several representatives of the German Enlightenment ; the pedagogues Johann Bernhard Basedow and Friedrich Gabriel Resewitz , the court preacher Baltasar Münter , the writers Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg , Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock , Johann Elias and Johann Heinrich Schlegel (1724–1780), Helfrich Peter Sturz a . a.

Inspired by this group, Funk also began to publish, mostly sacred songs. He also worked for Cramer's Nordic Overseer and Gerstenberg's letters on oddities relating to the latest literature . Funk also began translating the works of Jean-Baptiste Dubos during this period .

In 1769 Funk returned to Germany and became sub-principal at the Magdeburg Cathedral School ; just two years later he was appointed rector of this school as the successor to Johann Eustachius Goldhagen . He held this office until his death. In this function he became the mentor of the young Karl Morgenstern , who later coined the term " Bildungsroman ".

Funk played a key role in expanding the cathedral school to include a teachers' seminar . In 1789 an examination for the Abitur was introduced throughout Prussia ; based on an initiative by Funk.

1785 he was appointed consistory and 1804 radio from the University of Halle the title of Dr. theol. awarded. In 1805, together with Christian Conrad Duhm and Franz Bogislaus Westermeier , Funk published the hymnbook for worship in the city and the Duchy of Magdeburg .

The educator Gottfried Benedict Funk died on June 18, 1814 in Magdeburg at the age of 79.

Works (selection)

• Thoughts on the Use of Correctly Practiced Philology in Schools (1774)
• Hymn book for worship in the city and the Duchy of Magdeburg (1805)
• Small employment for children (1772)

literature

• Fritz Borchert : Gottfried Benedikt Funk. In: Historical Commission for the Province of Saxony and for Anhalt (Hrsg.): Mitteldeutsche Lebensbilder. Volume 3, Pictures of Life in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Self-published, Magdeburg 1928, pp. 101–117.
• Wolfgang Mayrhofer: Funk, Gottfried Benedict. In: Guido Heinrich, Gunter Schandera (ed.): Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon 19th and 20th centuries. Biographical lexicon for the state capital Magdeburg and the districts of Bördekreis, Jerichower Land, Ohrekreis and Schönebeck. Scriptum, Magdeburg 2002, ISBN 3-933046-49-1 , p. 200f.
• Karl Janicke:  Funk, Gottfried Benedict . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1878, p. 201 f.
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Gottfried Benedikt Funk. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 2, Bautz, Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-032-8 , Sp. 156-157.

Web links

• Gottfried Benedict Funk in the Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon