Johann Jacob Leu

Johann Jacob Leu or Hans Jacob Leu (born January 26, 1689 in Zurich ; † November 10, 1768 there ) was an encyclopaedist , mayor of Zurich and banker .

Act

After study trips through Germany , the Netherlands and France , Leu entered the Zurich civil service in 1740 and held various offices there, from 1749 the office of bag master .

Together with his sons, he published the twenty-volume General Helvetian, Eydgenössische or Schweitzerische Lexicon from 1747 - the first lexicon to cover the entire area of ​​what was then Switzerland. He also published legal manuals and other reference works.

In 1755 he founded a bank, Bank Leu , which existed until 2006 . In 1759 he became mayor of the city of Zurich for life.

Fonts (selection)

• From the Regiment of the Honorable Confederation . 1722 (expanded new edition of Josias Simler's work ).
• Federal urban and rural law. 1727–1746 (4 volumes).
• General Helvetic, Federal or Swiss Lexicon . 1747–1765 (20 volumes, online ).

literature

• Alex Capus : Patriarchs: Ten Portraits. Albrecht Knaus-Verlag, Munich 2006. ISBN 3-8135-0273-2 .
• Alfred Cattani : Johann Jakob Leu, 1689–1768. Association for Economic History Studies, 1955.
• Hans Erhard: Johann Jakob Leus Alpenreise 1705. In: Yearbook of the Historical Association of the Canton of Glarus , Bd. 64, 1973, pp. 18-29.
• Hans Rudolf Schmid:  Leu, Johann Jakob. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-428-00195-8 , pp. 363-3365 ( digitized version ).
• Marianne Zelger-Vogt: Johann Jacob Leu, 1689–1768 a Zurich magistrate and polyhistorian. Swiss National Museum, Zurich 1976.
• Marianne Zelger-Vogt: Leu, Johann Jacob. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Web links

• Literature by and about Johann Jacob Leu in the catalog of the German National Library
• April 15, 1755: Bank “Leu & Compagnie” is founded in Zurich , SWR2 , Zeitwort, April 15, 2008, audio file, 4:45 min.