Gustav Adolf Wislicenus

Gustav Adolf Wislicenus (German pronunciation: [ˈɡʊstaf ˈʔaːdɔlf vɪsliˈtseːnʊs]; 20 November 1803 in Battaune, Prussian Saxony – 14 October 1875 in Fluntern, part of Zurich) was a German theologian, one of the leaders of the Free Congregations.

He studied theology at Halle, and as member of the Burschenschaft was sentenced in 1824 to twelve years' confinement in a fortress.

[1] His pamphlet "Die Bibel im Lichte der Bildung unserer Zeit" caused him to be sentenced to two years' imprisonment in 1853, and he fled to America,[2][3] lectured at first in Boston and in 1854 he established a school at Hoboken, New Jersey.

Returning to Europe in 1856, he opened a school in Zurich, where he wrote his principal work, "Die Bibel, für denkende Leser betrachtet" (The Bible for thoughtful readers, 2d ed.

He was the father of chemist Johannes Wislicenus[4] and supported natural scientists from the free religious movements who sought a middle ground between atheism and Christiam dogmatism.