Samuel Simon Witte

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Samuel Simon Witte , also Simon Samuel Witte (born December 18, 1738 in Röbel , † November 14, 1802 in Rostock ) was a theologian and philosopher.

Life

Samuel Simon Witte was born in Röbel as the son of the businessman and senator Johann Joachim Witte (1694–1769) and his wife Anna Christine, nee. Güsserow (around 1702–1767). In 1756 Witte began studying theology in Rostock , but apparently switched to the philosophical subject when he went to Bützow in 1761 and was finally awarded a master's degree there in April 1762. From 1766 he was a full professor of natural and international law at the newly founded Friedrichs University Bützow. Between 1770 and 1786 he was elected its rector five times. In 1772 Witte also held the post of ducal Mecklenburg-Schwerin fiscal administrator to Bützow. In 1782 he received the character of a councilor from the sovereign. After the Bützower was dissolved and reunified with Rostock University, Witte moved to Rostock as a professor in 1789.

Within the family he was referred to as a professor of "eloquence and aesthetics". He was the brother-in-law of the Malchiner council pharmacist and botanist Joachim Christian Timm .

Pyramid dispute

Samuel Simon Witte became known for his theory that the Egyptian pyramids were not created by human hands. In his great work: "On the Origin of the Pyramids in Egypt and the Ruins of Persepolis" (1789) he tried to portray the creation of the pyramids as the remains of a huge volcanic eruption. According to his theory, the pyramids are essentially an inversion of the basalt soil. This attempted explanation even brought Alexander von Humboldt and Carsten Niebuhr to the scene, who wrote counter-writings. This in turn caused the author to come out to the public again with a “defense”.

A scientific dispute arose over Witte's daring thesis, which was not finally settled until 1805, when the French artillery general J. Grober discovered petrified sea crabs in and mortar between the stones while climbing the Great Pyramid of Cheops.

Fonts (selection)

  • General Academic Encyclopedia and Methodology. Goettingen 1793.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rostock matriculation of Samuel Simon Witte in the Rostock matriculation portal
  2. ^ Bützow matriculation of Samuel Simon Witte in the Rostock matriculation portal
  3. ↑ Doctorate as a master's degree from Samuel Simon Witte in the Rostock matriculation portal
  4. ↑ [Review to:] SS Witte: About the origin of the pyramids in Egypt etc. (1789) . In: Allgemeine Literaturzeitung. Year 1790. Volume 3, Numero 224. pp. 329–331. ( Digitized version )
  5. ↑ [Review of Humboldt, Alexander von]: Mineralogical observations on some basalts on the Rhine. With preliminary, absent-minded remarks on the basalt of the ancient and modern writers. Braunschweig: Schulbuchh., 1790: In: Allgemeine Literaturzeitung. Year 1791. Volume 1, Numero 80. P. 636–638. ( Digitized version)
  6. ↑ [Review to:] Witte, Samuel Simon: Defense of the attempt on the origin of the pyramids in Egypt and the ruins of Persepolis and Palmyra. Leipzig: Müller, 1792. In: Allgemeine Literaturzeitung. Born 1793. Volume 1, Numero 24. pp. 185–192. ( Digitized version )
  7. ^ [Review on:] Grober, Jacques François; Witte, Samuel Simon: About the origin of the pyramids in Egypt and the ruins of Persepolis. A new try. Leipzig: JG Müllerische Buchhandlung, 1789. In: Jenaische Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung. Volume 2, volume 1, number 072 (March 26, 1805). Col. 569-574. ( Digitized version )
personal data
SURNAME Witte, Samuel Simon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Theologian and philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH December 18, 1738
PLACE OF BIRTH Röbel
DATE OF DEATH November 14, 1802
Place of death Rostock