Karl August Credner

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Karl August Credner around 1850

Karl August Credner (born January 10, 1797 in Waltershausen near Gotha , † July 16, 1857 in Gießen ) was a German Protestant theologian . From 1832 until his death he taught as a full professor at the University of Giessen .

Life

Credner came from a rectory in Waltershausen near Gotha, where he was born as the oldest of eight siblings. After attending the Illustre grammar school in Gotha (1812–17), he studied Protestant theology from 1817 to 1825 at the universities of Jena , Breslau and Göttingen ; in Breslau he became a member of the Teutonia fraternity . In 1827 he received his doctorate in Jena. phil., in 1828 he completed his habilitation there. In the same year he discovered a fossilized hardwood plant from the Upper Cretaceous , which was named after him " Credneria ". From 1830 to 1832 he was associate professor in Jena, from 1832 full professor and doctor of theology in Gießen.

Credner's main scientific interest was historical considerations and interpretations of biblical writings, especially the New Testament canon. In university life and in student training, he strived for extensive reforms, which in Gießen led to arguments with the Catholic university chancellor Justin von Linde . In 1839, Credner supported a student revolt against the rigors of Linde's disciplinary proceedings by storming the prison . These quarrels contributed to his untimely death. Posthumously, however, his reform efforts were widely recognized. A street in Giessen is named after him.

family

On April 24, 1832, Credner married Johanna Bernhardine Sigismunde Clotilde Luden (1813-1884), the daughter of the historian Heinrich Luden, in Jena . The marriage resulted in 16 children. At the time of his death, nine of them were still alive, some of them minors.

Works and treatises

literature

Web links